Dark Ride
by grimmylikesazrael
Summary: AFTER MAXIMUM RIDE 2. Max and the flock run into trouble in Gotham... I suck at writing the summary but I really wanted to make a story with Max and the Joker! BWA HAHAHAHA! no, i do not own any characters and I'm sorry if you don't like this.
1. Chapter 1

4

**Chapter One**

Jack Napier walked down the hallway, smiling (there wasn't really anything else he could do). Nearly thirty years ago, he'd killed Carl Grissam and now _he _owned the mob, something he'd wanted to do _before _Grissam had died.

Memories were clouding his thoughts. Twenty-nine years ago, he'd been known as 'the Joker.' Thanks to Batman, he'd fallen into a vat of chemicals, which turned his skin white, hair green and had given him a large and permanent grin.

It seemed to end before it had really begun. Falling off a building and being saved by Bats himself (the whole 'can't kill people' rule) really seemed to put a damper on things. He'd gone back to crazily ruling the mob from the inside in seconds after that, dying his hair and using make-up to colour his skin normally. A year later, he had Harley and a son.

That was a strange experience – for thirty seconds. Jack didn't change, he was just the same: crazy and violent to everyone, no matter whom they were.

Jack, if possible, smiled wider. His son had left eleven years ago and, in all honesty, Jack really enjoyed not having him around. It meant just him and Harley, no one to get in his way with different ideas and no way Jack would wake up and realise half of his knives were gone. If anything, Jack's son was stranger in the head than _he _was.

Now, to complete this perfect world, Batman had stopped being Gotham's Dark Knight (he must have retired). But the Bat was at least ten years younger than Jack... and he was fifty eight...

'Napier,' said someone and he turned around, staring at the heavily muscled man in front of him. 'There's someone here to see you.'

'Where is he?'

'In your room.'

Jack arched an eyebrow. 'Okaaay.'

'Do you want me to make him leave?'

'Do I look like I need _you _to make him leave? Who is he, by the bye?'

'Claims to be your son.'

'Hm.' Jack took out a small pistol, stared at it for about two seconds then shot the muscled man in the stomach.

The man fell forwards and Jack said, 'Thanks for the news.'

--

The door opened and Jack couldn't help thinking how typical it was of his son to keep the room dark, except for the moonlight shining through the window. A dark figure was sitting in a chair, face concealed in darkness.

'Where were you, _huh_?' Jack asked. 'Your mother was _worried sick_. We asked _everyone _we could but no one had _seen you_.' Jack was lying through his teeth, not caring if his son knew this or not. Well, Harley _had _been worried sick, but that was Harley. 'You left when you were seventeen, kiddo. Eleven years later and – hey, does your _mom _know you're here?'

'Probably no_t_. If she did... would I be talking to you?'

'Guess not.' Jack peered through the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of his son's face. 'So... where've you been? Are there girls involved?'

Silence from the other side of the room.

'Same as before,' said Jack, shaking his head. 'Too secretive... must get it from your mother's side.' He waited. 'Afraid?'

There was laughter from the other side of the room. It sounded like wheezing, laughing and coughing all in one. Jack didn't flinch – he couldn't even if he wanted to. His eyes narrowed in interest.

'Explain,' he said.

'Nothing _to _explain.' The figure stood up and swirled the chair around with his hand, face still concealed. 'Heeey! You kept these!'

Jack ignored this and said, 'Freak.'

There was silence. Then, 'You wanna know how I got these scars?'

Jack stared. If he could see his kid's _face_, let alone the scars, it probably would've worked better.

'Already know. You stole _knives_ when you were little, doesn't really take a genius to figure –'

'My father,' said the figure, taking a step towards Jack, 'was... a psychopath, if you will, and a fiend.'

Jack noticed this was different from the story he'd fed his son all these years. He still grinned.

'He comes home one night, _crazier _than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit.'

Jack was a little surprised. This _was _different.

'He takes the knife from her, laughing as he does it. He turns to _me _with the knife. "_Why so serious?_"' His voice ended in a rough growl.

Jack swallowed. This was wrong. This was the real story. Had this kid been remembering every second of this for the last twenty years of his life?!!

The figure took another step towards Jack. 'He comes at me with the knife. "_Why so serious?_"'

Jack's son stepped in front of the light, in front of Jack. Jack's jaw dropped open. He vaguely realised that a switchblade had been stuck inside his mouth, pressing up against the inside of his left cheek, but that wasn't mattering now. His son was wearing make-up, a red swipe over his lips and scars, large black circles around his eyes. He was wearing a purple suit and his hair was dyed a green/yellow, still showing his original brown in some places.

'He puts the blade inside my mouth,' the Joker said, staring back at Jack. '"_Let's put a smile on that face_."'

Jack whipped out his gun and pointed it at his son's head.

The Joker nodded slightly, took the switchblade out of Jack's mouth, lifted up his hands and grabbed Jack's pistol. For a second Jack thought he was going to take it, but instead was trying to aim it right through the middle of his head.

'You better explain to me what you're _here for_ or I _will _shoot.'

The Joker blinked and said, 'Okay. Shoot away.' He started humming tunelessly, waiting.

Jack rolled his eyes and –

The door burst open and Jack's hand went down. Harley Quinn was standing there, looking slightly confused. Her eyes went from the Joker, back to Jack, and she stared at the Joker. Her eyes widened and she brightened.

'PUDDIN'!' she yelled, throwing her arms around her son. The Joker had temporarily become a statue, but Harley did her best.

'Oh, puddin', where _were you_? You look so different now! Well, your hair looks the same, but you dyed it and – is that _make-up_ you're wearing?!'

The Joker blinked slowly and Harley saw him swallow. 'Puddin?' She looked over at Jack. 'Mr J...'

'Don't mind him, Harley,' said Jack. 'He's just a freak now.'

Harley's jaw dropped and Jack felt a pain in his upper arm. He looked and saw a switchblade deeply embedded.

Jack yelled and smashed the pistol into his son's face.

The Joker fell backwards, blood dripping out of his nose. To Jack's surprise, instead of a yell of pain, it was the same laugh that came out of his son's mouth. In fact, it must've seemed hilarious to the Joker that he'd been hit it the face with a gun because he was finding it hard to stop laughing.

Jack stared, ignoring Harley's frantic yelling. His crazy, freak of a son was the new Joker and, frankly, as much as Jack hated to admit it, a lot scarier than Jack himself.

The Joker opened his eyes, trying hard not to laugh. 'So _I'm _the freak?' he gasped. '_You _have a permanent smile! And – your _make-up's _running.'

Jack noticed that his son's make-up was done quite roughly, because through the white he could see tanned skin, the same colour as his son's neck.

'We'll see you later, kiddo,' said Jack, speaking to his son as if he were a toddler. 'Mommy and Daddy have to talk now. Just stay here, we'll be back.' He grabbed Harley's wrist and pulled her out. She was staring hopelessly at her son, who was still laughing and gasping for breath.

The door closed, leaving the Joker against the wall, under the window, laughing.

**FIRST CHAPTER!!! Feel so embarrassed for no reason. Please review. I own NOTHING.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I jolted upright in bed, gasping, hand over my heart. After realising it was just a dream, I fell back on my bed, limp with relief but irritated by my stupidity of thinking it was real.

I clambered out of bed and looked around _my_ room. I didn't really know how we'd come to be here at... well, the right time and the right place? Something like that. But somehow, I'd found my dad and he wasn't too keen on letting me run off again.

Get this: my dad is Tony Stark. I know, I know. Waaay better than Darth Vader, ('Max, I am your father.') but I'm not really comfortable with it. We're more like friends and I've never called him 'Dad' – just Tony.

The even crazier thing is that I've been living with him from the beginning of the year and it's, like, nearly Christmas, and he doesn't know about the whole 'bird mutation' thing. Might've slipped my mind when I got my own bathroom. Or maybe I'd just prefer my father not to think I was a freak.

The good news: Tony really likes to have Iggy, Fang, Angel, Nudge and Gazzy around, not knowing about their wings either. Oh, and Total. Yep, he doesn't know the dog talks either and God knows that was hard making sure Total would shut up.

I walked into my bathroom (it still kills me that it's _mine_, I mean, _wow_) and splashed some water on my face. I looked in the mirror and, thankfully, no Eraser Max appeared. I was all good.

I pull on some jeans and a sweatshirt and opened my door silently. (The good thing about billionaire's homes: the doors don't creak!). My room looked into the living room, and the hallway toward the front door.

The TV was on and I could see the back of Tony's head and neck, on the couch and facing the screen.

It was seven am. Shouldn't he be _asleep?_ Then again, shouldn't I _not_ be sneaking out?

That's what I do – go to the kitchen, write a note, fly around then find the flock. I crept out quietly. Six more paces and I was out... five... four... three... two...

'What are you doing?' Tony asked.

I turned around, ready with a witty comeback. 'Uh...'

'You've been doing this since the beginning of the year, Max.'

I shrugged. Tony stood up, actually smiling.

'Do you even eat before you leave?'

_In all truth, no_.

I didn't answer him, just stared blankly. Tony gave me a _whatareyougonnado_ look and walked over. 'You okay?'

Jim Dandy. Peachy. Whatever. 'Yeah, I'm fine,' I said.

'You sure?'

No. 'Yep,' I said.

Tony looked down at me, grinned and said, 'Be home by nine,' through his teeth.

I couldn't help it – Tony's irritating kid personality was funny sometimes. I mean, he tries to be a dad...

I nodded, smiling. Then I walked out the door, wondering where I might find Fang and the flock.

--

'Max,' Nudge whined. 'Why can't you come back?'

'What's wrong with Fang?' I asked, amused.

'Yeah, what's wrong with me?' asked Fang innocently.

Nudge looked like she might cry and I said, 'Nudge, I'd _love _to come back, it tears me apart having to sleep away from you guys, but Tony wouldn't understand. And you get to see me every day, right?'

Nudge nodded, swallowed and said, 'I guess.'

'Yeah, so what _is _wrong with me?' Fang repeated and I shoved him.

Nudge had turned twelve nearly a month ago, and Fang and me had turned fifteen this year, just as Gazzy had turned nine and Angel seven. Iggy was going to turn fifteen a little before Christmas, we were still in November. I have no idea how old Total is.

'So Max, how's Tony?' asked Angel, all innocent.

'Uh, fine.' I was silent then said, 'Um, Angel? Could you possibly not tamper with my dad's head to make him send me back to the flock?'

'Don't you want to come back?' The Gasman looked crestfallen.

'Of course I want to!' I told the truth. 'More than anything else in the whole world! It's just... mixing up Tony's head is wrong.'

'Okay, Max,' said Angel, scratching Total behind the ears.

'So, what's the Iron Man suit like, up-close?' asked Total, wagging his tail.

'Total, I've told you, I've never actually bothered to see it and he's never actually showed me it.'

'What's up with that?' Iggy muttered and I glared at him, until I remembered he was blind. God, that was irritating!

'So, how've you guys been?' I asked.

'You mean, in the last six hours you haven't seen us?' asked Iggy brightly. 'Fine. You?'

'Good. I... slept.' Which brought me back to my weird dream.

'What weird dream?' asked Angel and I silently cursed telepathy.

'Nothing, sweetie,' I said, smiling sweetly at her.

'Did the dream have hot guys in it?' asked Nudge, eyes wide.

'Oooh, do tell,' Iggy said, leaning forwards and Gazzy snickered.

'No,' I said irritably. 'It did _not _have hot guys in it.'

'Come on,' said Gazzy. 'What happened?'

'Was it about Fang?' asked Iggy innocently. I was about to push him off the park

bench but Fang got there first, leaning over the table and shoving Iggy hard so he fell back. Iggy frowned as Gazzy howled with laughter.

'Come on, Max,' said Angel sweetly.

'Yeah, please?' asked Total.

'Was it about the School?' Fang asked me quietly.

Remembering the mad whitecoats (mad as in crazy, not anger management) at the School who had permanently screwed over our lives made my blood boil. I grew up in a dog crate. I've been chased by Eraser's for four years and the beginning of this one. I have _wings_.

'Nah,' I told him. 'It was something... different.'

'Okay, so it's not about Fang, not about hot guys, and not about me,' Iggy said, climbing back onto the park bench. 'What happened?'

'Can I get some space?' I snapped and the flock stared at me.

_Don't destroy your world, Max. You're meant to save it._

Oh, God. Here comes the Voice.

_Shut up, Voice_, I thought snidely. _You weren't in the dream... were you?_

_I'm there whenever you want me to be, Max._

_That's not entirely true... I mean, whenever I want you, you don't answer._

Silence. See what I mean?

'Sorry,' I mumbled, looking down.

'Sorry, Max,' Gazzy said.

'Nothing for _you _to be sorry for,' I said, leaning over and ruffling his hair.

'If we need to blame someone, everyone look evilly at Iggy,' Fang said with a straight face and we all put our dagger glares on Iggy, who, being blind, started humming 'Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You' and tapping his fingers in time with the humming.

After twenty seconds of this, Nudge swallowed and looked around, as if what she was going to say next was her death sentence. 'Max... please?' she asked, turning Bambi Eyes on me.

God damn this world!

I sighed and said, 'Fine. I'm... not really sure what was going on –'

'Oh, _great_,' Iggy said loudly and Total yipped at him then said, 'Go on.'

I hated this. They were all staring intently at me. Gazzy nodded encouragingly and I swallowed, eyes a fraction wider.

'Um. Well.'

'Bravo,' Total said and I glared at him. 'Sorry, I'm sorry... seriously, go on.'

I knew that the really hard part of this would be finding away to start it then I'd probably be off.

'Well... there was this guy called... Jack... Nape...'

'Jackanapes?' asked the Gasman.

'No,' I said, shaking my head, 'like, his last name was something crazy. Anyway, Jack had called himself... the Joker? Um, thirty years back or something. Then he had a wife and this kid – only he grew up. And he really liked knives.' One part of the story stuck in my head. 'And he had massive scars.'

'Like, across his eyes?' Total asked. My gaze slid over to Fang who was watching me intently.

'Across his mouth. Like a type of grotesque smile. And his dad did it to him.'

'Whaaat?' asked Iggy, eyes wide.

Fang blinked.

'I dunno!' I stated. 'Um, like, when he was eight or nine, his dad went psycho and he came home and his wife got a knife to protect herself. The dad _took _the knife _from_ her and put it inside the kid's mouth and... and he said something like "_Why so serious?_"'

Everyone was staring at me.

'He would've been my age,' Gazzy said thoughtfully and he shuddered at the thought.

'Or younger,' Fang said.

'Is that it?' asked Angel.

I wanted to tell her, 'Yep, that's it, who wants lunch?' but instead all that came out of my stupid mouth was, 'No. I didn't actually see the knife part happening.'

'Thank God!' Nudge said.

'I was watching it twenty years later, around now,' I blurted. I was trying to speed this up, get it over and done with. 'Present time, y'know? And Jack went into his room and the kid was there and –'

'What was the guy's name?' asked Iggy.

'I dunno. They never said it, Jack just kept calling him kiddo or something and his mom called him Puddin'.'

Iggy snickered then said with a straight face, 'But of course, this is no laughing matter.' He cleared his throat and gestured to me. 'Continue on.'

'Can no one interrupt me for the rest of this?' I asked loudly. Everyone nodded and I continued. 'So, Jack comes in, his kid's there and Jack's all like, Where've you been? And the kid stood up and said something along the lines of "Wanna know I got these scars?" and he told Jack the story and put a switchblade inside Jack's mouth then Jack put a gun to his head and then the mom, Harley came in and she was wondering where her son had been and so on.

'Jack called him a freak and so the Joker stabbed Jack in the arm –'

'I thought Jack was the Joker,' Total said in confusion.

'I guess his son became the new one,' I said, shrugging. 'Anyway, Jack slammed his gun into his kid's head and he didn't yell or anything. He _laughed_. He was, like, finding it hard to _stop_. And then... I woke up.'

No one said anything, except for Total, who said, 'Jeezum.'

'Sounds crazy,' Fang stated.

'Yes, thank you, Tonto,' I said, staring at him.

Nudge blinked and said, 'What did he look like?'

'Who?' I asked blankly.

'The Joker! The new one. I mean, if he's twenty eight or something...' She looked down.

'Ew!' said Angel.

'Nudge!' said Iggy.

'That's _gross_,' Total said.

I rolled my eyes. 'He looked creepy, Nudge. He was tall, he had curly... Spaghetti would be a good term for how his hair looked...'

'What?'

'Like, you know when you get your hair wet and it's all strands and spaghetti-ish?'

'Yes...'

'His looked like that dry. And it was roughly dyed green.'

'Original colour?'

'Uh,' I said, staring at her. 'Brown.'

'Wow,' Nudge said. Her browns eyes were wide. Okay, getting off the conversation of the hair, let's talk about his face.

'He had brown eyes,' I said, remembering how they'd practically blended with the black circles. I didn't know why I'd taken note of all this. 'And he had black circles around them, as in make-up.'

'He wore make-up?' Gazzy asked, wrinkling his nose.

'Uh, yes. He also had this white make-up all over his face and a red... smile over his mouth and scars.'

'Sounds creepy,' the Gasman said.

Angel shuddered, so I thought, _Angel, baby, I am so sorry! So, so sorry,_ praying she'd hear me.

Nudge nodded. 'He does sound really creepy.'

Finally, she got it!

'You sure took careful notes for someone so creepy,' Fang muttered.

I looked at him and said, 'What?'

Fang shook his head and I heard Iggy say in a girly voice, 'Fang's jealous!'

'Iggy, shut up!' I snapped. 'You're being really annoying today!'

Iggy's eyebrows shot up so high they were in danger of disappearing into his hair and he held his hands up. I suddenly noticed Gazzy looked mischievous and I said, 'That was _not _you!'

Everyone except Fang and me burst into laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

'Pizza?' asked Iggy.

'Go for it,' Tony said, handing him the box of ham and pineapple.

'Don't take all of it!' the Gasman said as Iggy took two pieces.

I raised my eyebrows at the meaning of 'all of it' and after inhaling the sweet scent of pizza, dug into my vegetarian. Fang had full-on BBQ Meatlovers in both hands and was practically wolfing them down.

'Oh, my God!' Nudge said, with her mouth full. 'Max, I love your dad!'

Tony glanced at me and I swallowed, grinning.

'I like your dad too, Max,' said Angel, smiling sweetly at Tony. Seeing as how Tony didn't know about the wings, the fact that Gazzy could mimic people, Iggy could practically see with his _ears_, Angel had telepathy, could breathe underwater and talk to fish, Nudge could sense left-over emotions through objects (wonder what she was getting from the pizza box) and I could fly at, um, super speed, I was hoping Angel wasn't going to go all scary on him with the whole 'I'm a seven-year-old mind reader. Come and play with me!'

Angel looked sideways at me and she pushed a sentence into my mind. _Your dad thinks we're keeping something from him._

This was the first I'd heard of that. _Well, we are, sweetie. But we can't let him know._

_I know. _

I smiled at her and she smiled back.

'Oh, God, pizza is good,' Nudge said loudly and, to my surprise, Iggy, the Gasman, Tony and Fang started laughing. Nudge looked at them with wide eyes and I realised she had cheese and pizza sauce all over her face. I tried not to laugh but failed miserably and Angel covered Total's mouth to hide his chuckling.

'What? What is it?' Nudge asked.

Angel took her to the bathroom and we heard her scream, '_Oh, my GOD!!!_' which made all of us laugh harder.

--

At about eight pm, I told Tony quietly that me and the flock (I didn't call them the flock) would be gone for a little while. Tony stared at me in confusion and said, 'Uh... why?'

We're going flying. Of _course_, Max! Telling Tony you're going somewhere, late at night and not actually telling him what you're doing?

'Actually, never mind. We'll stay here,' I told him brightly.

'I'm going to have to head off,' he answered, shrugging. 'You know...' He looked down towards the garage.

'Got ya,' I said and he walked down the stairs.

'Can we see your –?' Total started but Iggy clamped a hand over his mouth.

Tony turned around. 'Hm?'

'Um. I was wondering if we could see the Iron Man suit...' Gazzy said, making his voice a good mixture of the Gasman's voice and Total's.

Tony smiled. 'Sorry, Gazzy, maybe another time.'

Another thing about Tony: it's amazing how much he's fine with the fact my best friends hang around. I mean, it's not like he knows. Maybe that'd make him mad...

'Okay,' Gazzy said, using the perfect amount of crestfallen looks, cheeriness and bashfulness. That kid is amazing.

Tony disappeared down the stairs and I said, 'All right, so –'

'Max's room!' screamed Nudge and ran to my room.

'Okaaay,' I said and Fang whispered, 'She has issues.'

I tapped his shoulder twice and said, 'I'm smiling.' Which I was.

He smiled back, puffed out his chest and said, 'I made Maximum Ride smile! Let there be dancing in the streets!'

Which led Iggy to start moon walking, singing, 'Dancing in the Streets' (most likely the Jagger and Bowie version). Let me tell you: Iggy's got the moves.

Which led to Gazzy falling on the floor, laughing at Iggy's voice and dancing.

Which made Nudge start yelling for us to hurry up, she was on my bed.

I rubbed my temples and Fang rubbed my shoulders. 'You're doing great,' he told me, giving me one of his rare smiles which brightened my world.

--

After that whole ordeal, I gathered the flock in my room and opened my window, which looked out over the ocean. 'Care for a fly?' I asked and, holding Total, I jumped out the window.

'What the hell. It's nearly Christmas,' said Total from my arms.

'It'll be December in four hours,' Fang informed him after he'd jumped from the window, checking the watch I didn't know he had.

'Riiight,' I said, looking down at Total.

'I'm chilly,' he told me.

'No!' I replied and the boys snickered. 'Not again! Not like back in Colorado!'

Total sniffed and said, 'Fine. I'll just catch pneumonia.'

I raised my eyebrows up and down and said, 'All right.'

Angel and Nudge were flying in circles, Fang was flying up above everyone, Iggy was folding in his wings, dropping, catching updrafts, and Gazzy was wordlessly following Iggy.

I grinned and poured on speed. Nothing was better than flying. Except for maybe flying with the people you know and love.

I was flying amazingly fast over the ocean, looking around at the dark blues and the blacks and the white orb that was the moon. Total's ears were flapping up and down. The smell of salt was everywhere.

I veered straight up, in front of the moon. I extended my wings to their full thirteen feet, looking up. It was so hard not to fling my arms out.

I laughed, holding so much joy I felt like I would burst. I snapped in my wings, dropping like a stone for thirty feet. I lay flat out; like I was about to belly flop into the water.

The wind rushed past my face. I held Total tightly, grinning widely.

'Don't drop me,' Total warned frantically.

_Wouldn't dream of it._

I flexed my shoulders and my opened my wings, flapping hard and back to the flock. Angel was staring after me, as was Fang but everyone else was just like, Oh, it's just Max and her super speed. Whatever.

Angel flew up next to me and said, 'Max?'

'Yes, sweetie?'

'I love the ocean.'

I smiled. 'I do too.'

Angel smiled back and said, 'I wish Tony knew... then we could do this _all _the time!'

My smile stopped. 'Tony's better off not knowing,' I said. 'He shouldn't know. Not at all, okay?'

Angel's face fell. 'I guess.'

'Sorry, Angel, it's just – he wouldn't like it.'

'Hey,' said Iggy loudly, 'speaking of the Starkster... I hear something.'

I looked around, serious paranoia kicking in. I saw a small, fluoro blue speck coming towards the house.

'Guys!' I yelled. 'He's coming back! Out of the air, now!'

The flock flew back towards the house as fast as they could but the speck that was Tony was faster... in seconds, it was inside the house.

_Why did we have to fly so far away?_ I thought frantically.

_Max_, said the Voice, _maybe if you told Tony, you wouldn't have to worry._

'Why is everyone against that simple _rule_?' I snarled, ignoring the fact Total could hear me. 'Don't tell Tony. "Oh, no, Max, can't we just tell him?" _Aahh!_'

I'd been flying a super speed and had narrowly avoided smashing through the house. I turned left and flew downwards, towards the ocean, trying to find a place to land.

'Can you _not_ try to kill me?' Total asked and I growled.

The flock, realising I'd flown down, followed me.

'Max,' said Nudge as we found a place. It was a small section of sand with large boulders and the cliff face was behind us. 'Why aren't we going back to Tony?'

'Because if he saw us climbing through the window, he _might_ get suspicious,' I snapped without warning. Nudge swallowed, nodding.

I didn't want to apologise. So I didn't.

'Does nothing go right for us?' I yelled, kicking a stone. It flew upwards and came back down, narrowly missing Gazzy.

I shook my head and sat down on a rock, swearing loudly. I wanted to put my head

in my hands and scream but instead I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.

'Max?' the Gasman asked.

'I'm okay,' I said calmly, standing up. And I was. Not.

'Well, you can always fly up there...' Fang pointed to the top of the cliff. 'Walk back to Tony's on the road.'

'And what?' I asked. 'Walk in there and say, "Oh, hey. Just went out to get some air..."' I stopped eyes wide. 'I'm a genius! No wonder you all worship me!'

Nudge and Angel giggled, Gazzy grinned, Iggy raised his eyebrows but smiled and Fang – Fang smiled so slightly, I wasn't sure if he was smiling. Then – this is what got me – his dark, usually expressionless eyes were looking at me as if I was... I dunno, something he really liked.

I blushed at Fang and Total said, 'Oh, God.'

'Well, y'know, there is the other option,' Fang continued. 'You can always let Tony cool off and stay with us for the night.'

_Do it!_ screamed my mind, but the smarter, more logical part of my brain said, 'Nope. Tony will _kill _you tomorrow.'

_But it'll kill me now not to be with them_, whined my mind.

'Nein.'

I swallowed and said, 'Guys – I want to stay with you more than anything, okay? But Tony _will_ kill me. And I'd like to see you guys for the rest of my life and I do not need my life to end tomorrow. I'm so sorry.'

'It's okay, Max,' said Gazzy.

'Yeah, Max, that's fine,' said Nudge, nodding.

Angel simply nodded with not much enthusiasm. I felt sorry.

'Just avoid doing something _really _stupid,' said Iggy but he made a 'kidding' face.

Total huffed and jumped into Angel's lap.

Fang's opinion was the only one that really mattered. I looked over at him and arched an eyebrow.

'Fine by me,' he said, looking blank.

'Allrighty then,' I said, nodding. 'I'll see you guys tomorrow.' I opened my wings, stood there for a second then launched into the air, flapping like crazy until I was up high in the air. This time, flying held no ecstatic emotions.

--

I walked in through the front door and the first thing I saw was Tony. He looked up at me with mucho annoyance.

'Where were you?' he demanded.

And there was the whole fatherly thing kicking in. Jeez. Never thought I'd see the day.

'I went out to get some air,' I said with the same amount of annoyance in my voice, shrugging and narrowing my eyes.

'Why would you do that when the window in your _room _is open?'

Crap.

I rolled my eyes and walked past him, into the living room.

'So, where were you?' Tony asked again.

'I needed to be outside, okay?' I asked. 'Me and the fl – gang just went outside.'

'The flgang?' Tony asked, amused.

'Just shut up, will you?' I snapped, slamming my door in his face. I fell onto my bed and turned my head so I could look out the window, staring at the moon.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own any characters. Yes, I'm putting in some scenes of the Dark Knight, but that's just to get the story kind of going…**

**Please review. **

**Chapter Four**

The next day, I left as early as I could, before Tony could wake up. After two hours of meaningless flying, I hit the ground and set off to find the flock.

After another two hours of irritating looking around LA, I ran into them outside a café.

'How'd the talk with Tony go?' asked Total quietly, as we were surrounded by people.

'Not well,' I said brightly.

'I'm bored,' said Gazzy.

'Let's play a game!' suggested Angel.

'Yeah!' Nudge looked at me. 'Max, can we play?'

A game? 'Uh... sure. What game?'

'Let's play hide-and-seek!' said Nudge. 'Like, through-out the city!'

'The city?' I asked. 'I don't think so...'

Angel, Gazzy and Nudge stared at me.

'Let's make it... um...' I looked around. Surely there was something I could do. 'How about we stay around these mains places,' I said finally, pointing at a few buildings. 'And no moving once you find a spot.'

'And I can't be in and have to go with Gazzy,' said Iggy.

'What?' asked Gazzy. 'That means when we get found, I'll be in! And why can't you be in?'

'Because I'm _blind_, nitwit,' said Iggy.

'Oh, yeah,' I said, nodding. 'It's not like you have super hearing, or can cook better than any of us, or beat Fang in polka.'

'I shall win someday,' Fang said darkly.

'Y'know what? Iggy's in,' I said, tapping him on the shoulder.

'What?' He sounded outraged.

'You'll find us really easily, I promise.' Hide in easy places and make noise, I told the flock in sign language. They nodded.

'Okay,' Iggy said bitterly. 'What do I count to?'

'A hundred,' said Angel and Total yipped.

'Fine. One. Two. Three. Four. Five...'

We all headed off in different directions. At least, I thought we did until I realised Fang was next to me.

'Hi,' I said. 'Why are you coming with me?'

Silence.

'Okay then.'

We turned down an alleyway. It was blank, there was nowhere to hide. I glanced over at Fang, who was staring at a barred air-vent. The vent was wide enough to fit three people, meaning two skinny mutant bird kids would do fine.

Fang leaned down, took out his pocket knife and unscrewed the covering. He pulled it off then gestured for me to go inside.

'No way!' I said. 'Small, enclosed spaces!'

'Do you want to be in and have to run around this place, being forever paranoid that you're not going to find someone?'

I stared at Fang. One of the longest sentences he'd ever said.

But still – I'm paranoid about _Iggy_ not finding everyone, let alone _me_.

_Just go in, Max,_ the Voice said. _There's something you need to find._

_Whaaatever, _I thought.

But I climbed in and Fang followed me. We shuffled in for about ten minutes then realised sheepishly we were hiding from a guy who couldn't _see _in quite a hard place.

'Gee,' I murmured to Fang and he nodded. Suddenly, my ears picked up on voices. I looked warily at Fang and mouthed, 'Do you hear that?'

Fang nodded and we moved quietly through the vents, trying to find the source of the voices. Finally, we turned a corner and saw small bars of light shining through an opening in the vent that was looking down into a room. The voices were coming from the room.

'Who stupid enough to steal from us?' someone Russian was asking. Fang and I inched over, peering through the bars.

'I am told,' said an Asian voice, sounding like it was coming from... a TV? I looked around and saw the TV on a table, with a man's face on it. '...that the man who arranged the heist calls himself the Joker.'

I glanced over at Fang and he arched an eyebrow.

'Who the hell is that?' asked the Russian.

I noticed someone familiar, someone who answered, 'Two-bit whack-job, wears a cheap suit and make-up. He's not the problem – just a freak.'

He was talking about his son.

I tapped Fang's elbow and mouthed, 'JACKANAPES.'

Fang smiled for a second then looked back down.

'Thanks to Mr Napier's well-placed sources, we know that the police have indeed identified our banks with marked bills and are planning to seize your funds today,' said the TV.

This caused a lot of shouting at the TV.

'Gentlemen!' snapped the guy on the TV. 'With the investigation ongoing, none of you can risk hanging onto your own proceeds. I am your only option.'

'So what are you proposing?' Jack asked.

'Move all the money to a secure location. Not a bank. No one can know but me. If the police were to gain leverage over one of you, everyone's money would be at stake. I will go to Hong Kong, far away from Gotham's jurisdiction. The Chinese will not extradite one of their own.'

Everyone fell silent as there was another voice. It was droning on, emotionless.

'Ha, ha, ha. Ha. Hoo, hee, ha, ha. Hoo, hee, ha, ha...' The Joker walked into the room. I could only really see the back of his head, but I knew it was him. 'And I thought _my _jokeswere bad.'

'Give me one reason why I shouldn't have my boy here pull your head off?' asked a black, muscular man.

'How 'bout a magic _trick_?' asked the Joker. He took something out of his pocket and smashed it against the table. Whatever it was, it stayed there when he took his hand away.

I noticed Jack watching his son, eyes narrowed in boredom.

'Now, I'm gonna make this pencil disappear,' said the Joker. A thug lunged out, aiming his right fist at the Joker's nose.

The Joker caught the blow with his left hand and used his right to smash the thug's head down on top of the pencil. I shuddered and Fang swallowed next to me. The thug fell to the floor. The pencil was –

'Da daaaa!' yelled the Joker. 'It's – ahhh, it's gone!'

He sat down. 'Oh, and by the way: the suit? It wasn't cheap. You oughtta know, you bought it –'

The black man stood up, ready to pound the clown.

'Sit,' said the Russian. 'I want to hear deal.'

The black man looked at the Joker, whose head turned towards the Russian and nodded then turned back to the black man.

'Let's wind the clocks back a year. These... cops and lawyers wouldn't have _dared_ crossed any of you.' He looked around. 'Well, what happened? Did your balls drop off?' He waited. 'See, a guy like me –'

'A freak,' said Jack and this stirred some laughter.

The Joker looked like he hadn't been interrupted. 'A guy like me...' he said slowly. 'Look – listen – I know why you're having your little... _group therapy sessions_ in the middle of the day. I know why you're –'

'Get on with it,' snapped the black man. The Joker put his hands up and said, 'Tony Stark.'

Fang looked over at me and I shook my head frantically.

'He's shown Gotham your true colours. And as for the television's so-called _plan_, Stark has no jurisdiction. He'll find him and make him squeal. I can tell the squealers... when I see one.'

The television flicked off.

'So, what do you think we should do?' asked Jack, arching an eyebrow.

'It's simple,' said the Joker. 'We, uh, _kill _Stark.'

I looked over at Fang and our eyes met. Fang glanced back down at the table. A lot of men down there seemed to find what the Joker had said hilarious.

'You're crazy,' hissed someone.

'No, I'm not crazy,' the Joker said quietly. 'I'm _not_.'

I blinked.

'Well, if it's so simple,' said Jack, 'why haven't you done it already?'

'If you're good at something,' the Joker said, 'never do it for free.'

'How much you want?' asked the Russian.

'Uh... half.'

The men around the table laughed.

The Joker shrugged. 'Look, if you don't deal with this now, pretty soon little, uh, Gambol here, won't be able to get a nickel for his grandma –'

'Enough of the clown!' yelled Gambol, bolting to his feet.

The Joker stood up, turning enough for Fang and I to see his face. He opened his purple jacket to reveal the explosives he'd strapped to his chest. 'All right, let's not _blow _this out of proportion.'

Gee. Irony.

'You think,' Gambol snarled, 'that you can just walk in here and steal from us?'

'Yeah,' the Joker said, eyeing Gambol warily.

'Well, I'm putting the word out – five hundred grand for this clown dead. And a thousand alive, so I can teach him some manners first.'

The Joker looked around the table, eyebrows raised. 'Okaaay. When you're all a little more serious about this, call me. Now, here's my card.' He took out a small joker card from a deck, held it up for a second then set it on the table.

He walked towards the door, showing the explosives. His eyes were moving around, glancing everywhere. I blinked and the next thing I knew, the Joker was staring at the air vent, at me and Fang.

I froze and could only stare back at him. I couldn't stop until he'd kicked open the door and left the room.

Fang and I turned and crawled as fast as we could to the exit. I felt horribly claustrophobic, like I could just curl up into a ball and stay there in the vent, shaking and hyperventilating. I was freaking out that the Joker would somehow be _at the opening, _waiting for us or something. Then again, I'm just paranoid.

As Fang and I turned the last corner to see the opening, I saw something – or some_one_ – moving outside.

Then again, maybe I'm not just paranoid.

I crawled to the opening and fell out, onto concrete, with the large, open sky above me. I sighed with relief then saw five (six, counting Fang) faces looking over me.

'What were you guys doing in there?' Angel asked.

'So much for "hide in easy places and make lots of noise,"' said Iggy, rolling his eyes. 'Oh, yes,' he added right as I opened my mouth, 'I heard that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

'So,' said Iggy, 'you're certain he saw you?'

We were all sitting on rocks, down at the small beach we'd been at the night before and Fang and I (well, I) had just told the rest of the flock about our crazy time in the air vent.

'Yep,' I said.

'Seriously!' said Nudge. 'That's creepy. Max has a dream then she sees those people... eek.'

Yes, Nudge, it was eek.

'Nudge,' the Gasman said, staring at her, 'there is something wrong with you.'

'Yeah, you're worse than me,' said Total.

Nudge raised her eyebrows. 'How could _that _be possible?' she asked drily.

'Hey!' said Total.

'You practically admitted it yourself,' Fang said.

'The Fangster speaks the truth,' said Iggy, nodding. His eyes trailed over the rock and he raised his hands. 'What up, dog?'

'Yes,' I said blankly.

'Okay, seriously,' said Angel, shaking her head. 'Max just saw a crazy bunch of people and the craziest just saw her and Fang.'

'I disagree,' Gazzy said. 'I think Jackanapes is the craziest.'

'Well, if he did that to his kid, what effect could that have on him?' asked Iggy. 'Hm. Traumatism. Craziness. Extreme passion for make-up.'

'Shut up, Iggy,' I said, but I raised his hands to face so he could tell I was smiling.

'Anyway,' said Total, 'they wanted to kill Tony.'

'Well, the Joker was the only one who put it out there,' said Fang, staring out at the ocean.

'Yeah, yeah,' said Total, 'but he's crazy enough to do it, right?'

'The word "crazy" has come up a lot these past few days, hasn't it?' Nudge said.

Indeed it had.

'Oh, no,' I said, clapping a hand to my forehead.

'Headache?' asked Fang.

'No,' I said, staring out at the horizon. 'Look.'

We all looked and saw –

About twenty flying Erasers heading straight for us.

--

'Angel! Total!' I yelled. 'Tony's house! _Now_!'

Angel jumped into the air, holding Total, and flew up the cliff as fast as she could.

My baby looked amazingly determined.

How did the Erasers find us? It'd been almost eleven months. Was it my chip?

I looked down at my wrist and swallowed.

'All right, guys,' I snarled, pissed off that my day just _sucked_. 'Let's go kick some Eraser butt.'

Launching myself in the air, I kicked at the nearest one's stomach. He doubled over and I slammed my fist into the side of his face. His wings crumpled in and he dropped like a stone.

A new Eraser flew in his place, launching – spitting – at me. His feet slammed into my chest and I was winded. I fell down thirteen feet, gasping for air. I sucked in a breath and flew towards the cliffs. The Eraser followed me, howling in delight. And, lucky me, he appeared to be one of the clumsy flying Erasers (the-fridge-with-wings type, as Fang so elegantly put it).

The rock face filled my vision and I stopped, my feet flying forward. I turned and zoomed off as fast as I could – right towards the Eraser.

He screamed as I ploughed into him. I suppose it must've felt like a very large bullet. I stopped and he fell, still screaming in agony until he splashed into the waves.

I turned and saw Gazzy clapped his hands over both of an Eraser's ear. He screamed and dropped like a stone.

'Max!' yelled Iggy. 'Duck!'

I folded in my wings whilst Iggy threw something at the Eraser that had been heading my way. It hit the Eraser on the side of his head and exploded. The Eraser dropped, a large gaping hole in his head.

'Iggy!' screamed Nudge. 'Gross!'

I swallowed and flew back up. Something slammed into my back and I said, '_Oof_!'

I turned to see –

Ari!

'Hello, Maximum,' he snarled. 'Merry Christmas!'

'How many times do you have to die?' I snapped, punching him hard.

Ari growled and launched at me. 'This is not a _game_, Max!'

'Funny, you had me going there for a while.'

I kicked him hard in the ribs and Ari yelled. Chopping my hand against his neck, I snarled, 'Go to hell, Ari! I've got enough trouble!'

Ari dropped a little and I kicked him in the chin, hard, making him literally spin backwards. His mouth started to spurt blood.

'I'll see you _soon_, Max,' said Ari as he tumbled downwards. 'Really, _really_ soon!'

I was panting slightly and I looked over at the flock. They were fine, except for Fang's bleeding nose.

'Just like old times, huh?' I asked.

'Oh, yeah,' said Iggy, sounding mucho unenthusiastic. 'Old times, all right.'

We flew back up the cliff, Fang hastily wiping the blood from his face, in case Tony saw him.

There was a large chance Angel had told Tony we all had wings, but I doubted it. Slightly.

--

The bonus of sneaking out is that no one really cares until they realise you're gone. The bad part about coming back is that the person you snuck out on is really, really mad.

Plus the fact that when I came in, Angel was as white as a ghost and Tony looked slightly angry.

'Uh,' I said, glancing over at Fang. He was blood free for the time being. 'Hi, Tony.'

'What just happened?' he asked.

'I... well...'

'Where were you?'

'Out with these guys,' I said, pointing to the flock.

'And what's Angel doing here?'

'I told her to meet us here,' I answered calmly.

'Yeah?'

'Yeah.'

'Fair play.'

I rolled my eyes at Tony and said, 'Okay, I'm sorry for sneaking out. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused. I'm sorry that I'm a crappy daughter. Happy now?'

Tony shook his head.

I groaned and walked back out of the house.

'We'll... just go,' said Iggy.

'Finish off Ari,' Fang whispered in my ear.

'You can't kill him,' I whispered back but I don't think he heard me.

'Tony,' said Nudge cautiously, 'um, can you not kill Max?'

'Very subtle there, Nudge!' said Iggy.

'Look, we really _do_ have to go,' said Gazzy. I beamed at him as he ushered everyone off then realised it was just me and Tony. I turned slowly towards him and said, 'I didn't want to talk to you this morning because I didn't want to hear all the crap you'd through at me.'

'So you didn't think I'd be more angry now?'

'That's the problem with good plans... they have a tendency to make you realise the bad part _right _after you've put it in action...'

'Max, what the hell?'

'I don't know!' I yelled and I felt like if he'd asked me what was going on, I would have told him everything, dreams, wings, School and the Joker.

Tony stared at me for two seconds then said, 'Okay.' I realised how weird it must look and I said, 'Sorry.'

'It's fine,' Tony said, shrugging.

Do _not _tell me you feel guilty!

'You gonna be okay for the fundraiser tomorrow?'

'What?' I asked blankly.

'The fundraiser that's going on tomorrow at City Hall?'

'Oh. Oh, yeah. Sure.'

I think I might just drown myself tonight.

**Max rules. :) **

**Nah, um, please review. Thank you. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

The next night and I still wasn't dead! Wow, I'm making progress.

Not.

But seriously, that day, I had some _amaaa_zingly good reasons not to live. Let's fill you in on some:

'Dresses?' I nearly shrieked. Thanks to my awesome powers of control, I just sounded a little unenthusiastic.

'All the other girls there will be wearing dresses,' Nudge said, nodding.

'Yeah, Max,' said Iggy with a straight face. 'All the other girls.'

I glared at him, even though he couldn't see it. Why did Nudge have to tell me this _in front _of Gazzy, Fang and Iggy?

'_Max_ wearing a _dress_?' asked the Gasman, stating the impossible. He doubled over with laughter. I swallowed hard and said in a calm voice, 'Okay, Nudge. Where do you recommend?'

Apparently, _everywhere_!

Nudge sent the guys to go look for suits (that gave me time to snigger at Fang and Iggy. Gazzy would look cute in a suit) and dragged me, Angel and Total to a large, expensive looking dress store.

'Um…' I said, feeling lost as I looked around the dresses.

'Oooh, Max!' shrieked Nudge, grabbing something a horrible pink orange colour – something that looked froufrou. 'Max, this would look _great _on you!'

Tutu? I think not! Bwahahahaha (evil laughter)!!!

'Um, I don't think that would work with my… hair,' I said, looking in a mirror at the crazy mass of brown stuff on my head that I call hair. My wings ached under my denim jacket and I looked around for something, _anything_ that could get me out of here quickly.

'This looks nice,' said Angel, picking up something blue in her size.

I was glad it was finally on to Angel. 'That looks _great_, sweetie! Why don't you try it on?'

Angel smiled and we walked to the change rooms, Total chuckling after us.

After two minutes, Angel called out, 'I think this looks great!'

'Great, sweetie,' I said absent-mindedly, looking around in case an Eraser batch crashed through the window, screaming out for our deaths.

Hey, call me paranoid, but it could happen.

'Show me, Angel,' said Nudge and Angel opened the door. I tumbled around on my feet for a second, seeing as how I'd been leaning against the door.

'Wow,' said Total, not caring if anyone heard him. I looked down at Angel and practically beamed.

As always, Angel looked cute, but right now she looked _waaay_ cuter than ever. Her blond curls clashed well with the sky blue (same colour as Iggy's eyes) of her knee length dress.

Of course, in the mirror behind her, you could see her wings pretty clearly. Maybe a jacket…

'Oh, my God,' Nudge blurted. 'Angel, you look so pretty!'

'How do I look, Max?' Angel seemed intent on getting my answer.

I wanted to scream 'REALLY CUTE' but that didn't sound like something I'd say. 'Angel, you look like the cutest seven-year-old there is, as always.'

Angel smiled widely and said, 'Can I get the dress?'

'Hang on!' said Nudge, holding her hands up. 'Me and Max need to get something too.'

I smiled at Nudge but rolled my eyes when she looked away. I turned my head and saw someone standing outside the store window. My muscles tensed as I readied myself for the fight, but the person walked away. I shook my head and Angel closed her door, getting changed back into her jeans and jacket.

_Max, not everyone wants to hurt you, _the Voice said and it sounded like it was smiling.

_Can't be too careful_, I told it irritably.

The Voice sighed and cooed, _Max, Max… I'll protect you_.

'You're inside my head,' I muttered and Nudge looked at me in surprise. I pretended not to notice and she said, 'Max, was that the Voice? What did it say? Or was it something to do with the Joker?'

Where the hell had that come from?

I looked down at Nudge and, without warning, the memory of the Joker staring at me through the vents popped into my head.

Where the hell had _that_ come from?!

_Voice, this better not be you!_ I thought angrily.

'The Voice just said it'll protect us,' I told Nudge and she nodded.

'Can I get a new collar?' asked Total.

'Maybe,' I said, shrugging. I swallowed and looked around at the monstrous dress store I had to get through without grabbing that pen over at that desk and stabbing myself brutally.

No, because that would ruin the flock's lives and Tony's fundraiser.

Makes you wonder what I'd do if I had no one.

--

When we got back to Tony's house, the boys were all sitting on the couch, watching something on the massive TV.

'What took you so long?' asked Iggy, smirking at us.

Nudge wanted to see everything.

'What'd you guys get?' I asked and Iggy frowned but Gazzy perked up.

'Fang got Emo clothes.'

'I didn't,' Fang said in an emotionless tone. 'Excuse me, I have to slit my wrists now.' He stood up and walked to the kitchen.

'Ew!' squealed Nudge. 'Fang!'

I giggled and looked over at Tony, expecting to see him smile, but instead he was staring at the TV, expressionless, as if he didn't know any of us were there.

'Jarvis,' he said, 'can you turn this up?'

'Of course, sir,' said the Artificial Intelligence that practically controlled the house.

I was slightly annoyed at the fact Tony was ignoring us then realised what he was watching.

'… and today, two men found dead, both policemen,' the reporter was saying and two black-and-white pictures of guys who looked barely thirty, the younger one smiling at the camera, the other staring blankly. 'And with this… horrifying result,' the reported continued and a new picture flashed up on the screen.

Both men had their faces carved into smiles. My eyes widened as I remembered this familiar technique and I looked over at Fang, who was watching the TV intently.

'Also at the scene of the crime, this video was found,' the reporter continued and a slightly fuzzy video took its place on the screen, showing the two cops looking very much alive, tied to chairs. One of them, the one who had smiled in his picture, looked scared.

'Tell them your names,' said an off-screen voice and I clenched my fists.

The scared guy swallowed visibly, unable to speak but the other said, 'Jason Statham.' He didn't sound afraid and I wondered if he was autistic.

'The guy from the _Crank _movies?' the voice off-screen said.

Jason, if that was his real name, swallowed, no more said.

'Who do you reckon does all the work in Gotham: you guys, or _Iron Man_?'

I half expected Tony to say, 'You're kidding, right?' but he just watched.

Jason said nothing but the other cop, the younger one said, 'Iron Man.'

Wow. You just screwed your position over for my dad. Something I would have _never_ done.

'Huh…' said the off-screen voice and the camera went closer to both of them. 'Why would you say that?'

'He shows us we don't have to be afraid of freaks like you,' spat the older one.

There was silence, as though the Joker was taking that insult in. 'But you do, Jason. You _really _do.'

I swallowed then realised Angel was _watching all of this_. I looked over at her and saw she was crying, but unable to tear her eyes away. The same for Nudge apparently, who had big, silent tears running down her cheeks.

'Look at me,' said the Joker. Both men didn't look up. '_Look at me!_'

Angel jumped, holding onto Total tightly, getting scared of the loud voice. I gritted my teeth and looked back at the TV, eyes narrowed. Angel was unusually stoic for a seven-year-old. I mean, here was a kid who could stand Erasers, stand being taken back to the frickin _School_, for crying out loud, and here was some crazy guy on a screen, far away from her, that was making her terrified. I was going to kill him, just for that.

The camera turned around and the Joker's face came into view. Then, wordlessly, Fang lifted the TV remote and turned it off.

'Hey!' Iggy said but fell silent when he heard Nudge sniff.

I picked up Angel and glanced over at Tony, who was still staring at the TV.

'You okay?' I asked slowly.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' he said. He sounded fine, but he didn't look it. I glanced over at the rest of the flock. Gazzy looked scared, Fang looked blank, Iggy looked highly pissed off, Total just had wide eyes and Nudge was hastily wiping her eyes.

The phone rang and Tony picked up. 'Hello? Rhodey, hey. Yep, I saw it.' He walked out of the room.

'Well, that puts a damper on tonight,' said Iggy brightly and I elbowed him in the ribs. Hard.

'We're still going,' I said grimly as Iggy wheezed for breath. 'I didn't spend half the day in a dress shop for nothing.'

Angel gave a watery chuckle and I hugged her tightly. 'It's okay,' I whispered. 'It'll be okay.'

--

That night, and I still wasn't dead! Wow, I'm making progress.

Not.

For one, Nudge had totally done me up. She'd straightened my hair, she found me a black jacket to go with my crimson dress and had even gone to town with make-up, despite my protesting and running around the house.

So glad the guys left early. I'm sure that even after the thing on TV, Tony would have cracked up.

'There,' said Nudge, letting me take a look at myself in the mirror. 'How do you look?'

In all honestly, not like Max. I felt horribly vulnerable, and was secretly wearing my jeans, a singlet top and combat boots under the dress. But I also looked kind of… nice. In a crazy, unMaxish way.

'I think you look great, Max,' said Nudge after I'd said nothing for a very long time. She was wearing a dark green dress that went up to about mid-thigh, a white jacket to cover up her wings and her hair was in a pony-tail, leaving curly amounts of dark fringe about her face.

Now _she _looked great.

Angel was wearing the same dress she had picked out this morning along with a dark jacket and for some reason had some seriously crazy white boots on. But she looked cute, which was all that was needed.

I swallowed and the girly Max in the mirror swallowed. 'All right, let's go to this thing.'

--

City Hall had _decided_ though, to move the whereabouts of the freaking fundraiser to someplace about twenty storeys up.

Finally, after mucho asking of cute, sophisticated-looking guys, Nudge, Angel and I actually _found _the place.

'Let's never speak of that again,' I muttered to Angel and Nudge as the elevator doors opened and they glanced at each other, giggling.

Nude and Angel immediately left my sight (as they wanted to _explore_ this place and all the _fabulous, rich_ people in the room) so, my paranoia turned on full, I made my way to a small, unoccupied table.

'Max?' said someone behind me and I turned to see Gazzy, Fang and Iggy looking at me. Well, Iggy couldn't actually see me, but he was staring in my direction.

'Wow,' Gazzy said. 'You look so… so…'

'Unlike me, I know,' I said grimly and he smiled bashfully. 'Sit down, please, before I go crazy and murder myself in front of all these people.'

'And we wouldn't _want_ that, would we?' Iggy muttered but sat down, smiling. 'So, what _are _you wearing?'

'Shut up,' I told him. 'You look nice yourself.'

Iggy was wearing a dress shirt so white it made him look not as pale and dark pants, his golden sleeper earring looking quite nice. Gazzy looked the cutest, with his blue, short-sleeved collared shirt and pale blond hair spiked up.

But Fang – Fang looked great compared to all of them. He was wearing a black dress shirt, rolled up to his elbows and blue-grey, slightly torn looking pants. His black overlong hair was flopped into his eyes and he gave me a rare smile.

'You look good yourself, Max,' he joked and I rolled my eyes, secretly feeling happy.

'Oh, God,' Iggy groaned and buried his head in his arms.

'Hey, you wanted to know how she looked,' Fang said and Iggy said, 'Stop this madness! Please!'

'Hey, here comes Angel, Total and Nudge!' said Gazzy as his sister, her dog and Nudge walked over.

'Act natural,' Iggy said, sitting up and I shook my head at him, not caring that he couldn't see.

'Jeez, there are so many people here,' Nudge said and I felt like screaming.

'Nice dress, Max,' Total chuckled and I scowled.

Angel picked up Total and said, 'I reckon Max looks pretty.'

'Max?' asked another voice and I turned to see Tony staring at me.

'Hi,' I said in a small voice.

'Wow,' Tony said.

'I've heard that a lot tonight,' I said, grinning.

Tony grinned back and said, 'Come on, there's some people I want you to meet.'

Angel stood up and announced she was coming too. I smiled sweetly at her, thankful that I wouldn't be alone with a bunch of crazy people.

Tony took me around to a few people I didn't really know, including Mayor Garcia (who wears eyeliner! Gasp!). And the women we met didn't even look at me and Angel – just went right on with a starin' at Tony.

'Okay, Tony,' I began.

'Last one, I promise,' he said. 'Trust me.'

'You're kidding, right.'

'This is Jack and his wife, Harleen.'

I froze as the man who'd spawned a highly deranged psychopath turned toward me. Harley was blond and was wearing a bright red and black knee-length dress. She smiled at me and said, 'Oh, how adorable!' when she saw Angel.

'Tony,' said Jack, shaking his hand. It took everything in me not to shudder. 'How've you been?'

'Fine. This is my daughter, Max.'

'Is that short for Maxine?' Jack asked, kissing my hand (I nearly went bezerk).

'Just Max,' I said stiffly.

'What's your name?' asked Harley, grinning down at Angel. I think she really liked her.

'Angel,' said my baby. 'Why is your son a –?'

I clamped my hand over Angel's mouth and said, 'Okaaay, well, I'm gonna go find Fang –'

I headed back to our table.

'Was that his dad I just saw you with?' Fang muttered.

'Yep,' I said.

'_That's _Jackanapes?' asked the Gasman, looking over. 'He doesn't look anything like his kid.'

'Thank _God_ for that,' Nudge said. I looked over at her and said, 'You don't still have a crush on the _Joker_, do you?'

Nudge blushed but spluttered, 'No!'

Iggy snickered but managed to cover it up by drinking a soda.

Angel suddenly looked over at me. 'Max – he's coming.'

'Sorry, sweetie?' I asked, looking down at her. What fresh hell is this?

'_He's _coming, Max – he's in the elevator. He wants Tony.'

I suddenly realised who she was talking about and said slowly, 'Honey, you know what I said about no brain tampering with Tony?'

She nodded.

'Any way you can get him to lock himself in some room, somewhere?'

Angel blinked but nodded.

'What's going on?' Iggy asked, staring in my direction intently.

'Uh,' I began but at that moment the elevator doors opened. An old man stood there, looking nervous. The Joker whipped a shotgun around the old man, saying, 'We made it!'

A couple of armed men in clown masks piled out and the Joker stepped out of the elevator. He fired the shotgun and there was silence, except for Nudge whispering to me, 'Oh, my God – he is _so_ cute!'

I looked around for Tony, whom Angel appeared to have gotten out of here. For no reason, I started pushing towards the front of the crowd.

'Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,' said the Joker, dropping the gun to the floor with a clatter. 'We are tonight's entertainment.' He picked up something that looked like shrimp, ate it quickly then looked around at the stunned guests. 'I have one question.' He grabbed a glass of something alcoholic, a lot of it flying out and took what was left of it down his throat. '_Where is Tony Stark?'_ He started moving around through the crowd of guests. 'Do you know where he is, d'you know who he is? Do you know where I can find Tony? I just wanna talk to him, little –' He rolled his eyes. '_No_. Y'know, I'll settle for his loved ones.'

'We're not intimidated by freaks like you,' said Jack as his son approached.

The Joker stared at him with a confused look (that I'm sure made Nudge swoon, being Nudge) then snapped a switchblade up to his throat. 'You wanna know how much I hated my father?'

'All right, stop,' I said and realised with irritation what I'd just done and the fact I was standing more than a metre away from the safe, normal crowd. I was attracting too much attention. My stupid sense that justice must be done is so _irritating_! But I crossed my arms and scowled.

The Joker took the knife down from Jack Napier's throat and looked at me.

'Well, hello beautiful,' he said, running a hand through his hair.

I gritted my teeth, wondering how many of his teeth I could get loose with one, quick punch.

'You must be Tony's daughter. And you _are _beautiful.' The Joker walked around me but I moved only my eyes.

Inside my head, my brain was having a battle:

_Kill him!_

No – you'll draw attention to yourself –

_Who cares? Kick – his – ass!_

'You look nervous – is it the scars? Wanna know how I got 'em?' He swallowed and stopped right in front of me. He grabbed one side of my face. I started struggling.

'Hey – come _here_.' I stopped, glaring at him. 'See, when I was a boy, I had a younger sister. Who tells me I worry too much. Who says I need to smile more.'

This was a _liiittle _different from my dream.

'One day, we're walking home from school and this _car_ comes out of _nowhere_. We wake up in a hospital a day later. She's disfigured. The family has no money for surgeries.'

I moved my head slightly so I could look around at the crowd. I could see Iggy, who was practically one of the tallest here, holding Gazzy's arm, and Nudge, holding Total. Where was Angel? Where was _Fang_?

The Joker turned my face back to his. 'I just wanna see her smile one more time. I just want her to know that we don't _care_ about the scars. So I grab my father's knife and do this to myself. And you know what? She couldn't look at me without screaming, like I was her own personal nightmare.'

'I can't imagine why,' I snarled, my evil side getting the better of me. I punched him in the stomach, hard.

The Joker laughed and said, 'A little fight in ya – I like that.'

'That's disgusting,' Fang said and slammed his fist into the Joker's face.

The armed men in clown masks ran forward but Fang wasn't finished. I couldn't do anything in a dress, so I just stood there, feeling helpless.

Fang gave one guy an uppercut (he was out in a _second_). Another guy ran up from behind Fang, but Fang spun around, kicking him in the ribs. Some people were screaming but a lot of them were wondering who the hell Fang actually was, the men in clown masks mostly.

Fang launched himself at another guy, who tried to punch him, found air and realised a second too late that Fang's fist was in front of his face. He was out like a light! The next guy went down along the same lines.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I heard Angel scream '_Max!'_

I whirled around and the Joker grabbed my right arm. I slammed my left fist into his rib cage. He stumbled slightly but that was the end of the reaction.

Fang whirled and stared at me, looking amazingly pissed off.

'Let her go,' he said, voice filled with anger only Fang can hold.

The Joker looked back at him with a care-free expression. 'Well, the thing about that is –' He aimed his shotgun at the window behind us and fired. There was a _crash_ and shards fell everywhere. The Joker holding onto my shoulder was the only thing keeping me from falling.

'_Let her go_,' Fang repeated loudly, eyes filled with hatred.

The Joker arched an eyebrow and grinned. 'Very poor choice of words,' he told Fang then let go of my shoulder, laughing.

'_Max_!' Angel screamed.

I realised as I fell that there was no way I could get my wings out – I hadn't made slits in the dress or the jacket so I was –

Swearing, I landed on the slanted roof. I couldn't stop, I was just going to fall twenty storeys to my death.

Wow, I'm _managing _to kill myself _after _the event has happened! What's up with that?

The fact that I could still hold humour as I was about to die made me feel slightly deranged.

There was a swooping noise and something with large, black wings jumped out of the broken window, pushing the Joker aside.

Fang grabbed me and held me around my waist as he flapped towards another building.

'Don't you _dare _drop me,' I warned him.

'And this is the thanks I get. I just saved your ass, _twice_.'

Of course, he had, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

Fang dropped me on a building and landed next to me. 'So,' he said, 'how was it meeting your boyfriend up close?'

I shoved Fang hard and tried to pull off my jacket. Fang rolled his eyes and helped me, sighing heavily.

I felt angry that I needed his help for this but once I had gotten it off, I grudgingly said, 'Thanks.'

Fang smiled and walked over to look at the massive broken window as I pulled off the dress and joined him.

'Nice crash,' he told me.

'Thanks,' I said, grinning. I stared at the broken window. There seemed to be a new kerfuffle going on in there now. I wondered what it was about and prayed none of the flock was involved.

'You thinking about the Joker?' asked Fang.

'No. I'm thinking about how much Tony will make me pay for that window.'

We stared at it for a while.

'You break it, you buy it,' Fang said.

--

Getting home was a lot easier than I expected. Of course, the fact that Fang had revealed he was a mutant bird kid really sucked, but with him, I guess it didn't matter…

I opened the front door and found the flock and Tony.

As you can imagine, I was _mucho _surprised when the flock ran up to me and hugged me.

'Max,' Angel said, half crying. 'We thought –'

'Then Fang –' said Nudge.

I looked down to see Total was crying, too. 'I'm such a marshmallow,' he sobbed. I grinned then realised he _talked _in front of Tony.

I looked worriedly over at my dad, but to my surprise he arched an eyebrow at me. 'Can you explain to me how I found myself locked in a bathroom,' he said, the 'dad' tone kicking in.

--

After an hour, Tony knew about the whole 'wings' thing. It was amazing how much came out of my mouth: he knew about Jeb, Anne, Ari, even Ella and Dr Martinez.

'They live where?' asked Tony.

'Phoenix, Arizona,' I blurted out and he nodded. Hey, when I spill the beans, I spill _big_.

'So…' said Total after all this was said and done, 'can we see the Iron Man suit _now_? Please?!!'

The flock and I groaned and Tony shrugged. 'Maybe tomorrow, Total.'

The phone rang and Tony picked up. 'Yeah? Rhodey! Wow… that was fast.' He waited. 'Yep. Nuh-uh. Cool.' He hung up.

'What happened?' asked Gazzy.

'The Joker's been caught and he's down at Gotham's MCU.'

--

**Yes, I know the scars story is bad, no more about it.**

**Just another chapter and more parts of the Dark Knight spliced in. That's nearly over, I swear, like, one more scene. Maybe.**

**Please review ******


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

For some abnormal reason, the next night, Tony decided to take the whole flock down to MCU (it was going to take a miracle to make Total shut up, he was rambling in the car).

Going inside was not a fun thing. It smelled strongly of cigarettes and it made me want to gag. Fang didn't like it either, but the little kids were interested. I was holding Angel's hand so she wouldn't run off. Oh, and Nudge was having a parade.

'We're going to see a cute guy, we're gonna see a cute guy,' she sang and I arched an eyebrow at Fang.

'Nudge, the guy through Max out a window,' said Iggy but Nudge was too busy in her little world of cute deranged guys who wear make-up.

'Oh, yeah, we should go to Arkham Asylum,' I said sarcastically. '_Sooo _many cute guys.'

'Yeah, there's this guy called Jonathan Crane,' Nudge rambled on and I frowned. 'I saw him in the paper – my God, his eyes are _sooo _big and pretty, total cute gene.'

'I think I'm gonna throw up,' said Iggy, retching. Tony looked back at Nudge like she was crazier than all the guys in Arkham put together.

I second that, sir.

'This Joker guy reminds me of someone,' babbled Nudge.

'Really?' Tony asked sarcastically.

'Yeah, but I can't – ooh! Heath Ledger!'

We all stared at Nudge.

'That's crazy,' said Fang, shaking his head.

'No way,' said Iggy as Angel giggled.

'Heath Ledger is cute,' I said, shaking my head. 'The Joker is _not _cute. Are you mental, Nudge?'

Fang glanced sideways at me. 'You think he's cute?'

I flushed and said, 'No.' Gazzy grinned and said, 'I could imitate him –'

'No imitating!' I said loudly as Nudge opened her mouth to say, 'YES!'

We opened a door to all these cells. The Joker was sitting down in one of them, the closest one. He had his eyes closed but opened one at the sound of the door.

I glared at him as he smirked.

'Tony Stark?' said a weary-looking man wearing glasses and a long trench coat. 'Lieutenant Gordon, at –'

'No, no,' said Mayor Garcia and I tried not to laugh at his eyeliner. '_Commissioner _Gordon.'

'What happened to the old Commissioner?' asked Angel innocently.

'He died the night before,' said Gordon, looking down at her. 'Acid in his drink. More of the Joker's work.'

Ouch.

'How old are you?' Gordon asked Angel.

'When's the funeral?' replied Angel, ignoring his question.

Gordon raised his eyebrows and said, 'Tomorrow.' 

'She's seven,' said Tony.

'Do you really think she should be in here?' Gordon muttered to him and he looked back at the Joker, who had his elbows on his knees, letting his hands dangle. He waved and Gordon rolled his eyes, looking back at us. He held out his hand to me. 'You must be Max. You're a brave young lady.'

I smiled and shook his hand. This place was giving me the creeps.

'And who are you?' asked Garcia, looking at the flock.

'I'm Nudge,' said Nudge quickly, 'and that's Angel, Gazzy, Iggy – he's blind – and Fang. Oh, and that's Total. Why are you wearing eye–?'

Iggy clamped a hand over her mouth and smiled in the Mayor's direction.

'Interesting names,' said Garcia.

'Interesting people,' Fang replied. I saw he was watching the Joker with a sour expression on his face.

'You look familiar,' said Garcia. 'Do I know –'

'He was at the fundraiser, with us,' I said quickly and smiled. Garcia didn't look convinced but said, 'Of course.'

'I want to talk to him,' Fang said suddenly, looking over at Gordon.

'I'm afraid –'

'We all do,' I said firmly. Gordon shrugged at me and said heavily, 'If it's that important.'

'We'll be a minute,' I told Tony and the flock walked up to the bars. Three other men were in the cell with the Joker and they stared at us in confusion.

'Stay away from the bars,' a guard warned but we didn't take orders from adults.

'Wow, you came to see me,' the Joker said, standing up and walking over to us. He was about the same height as Iggy. 'I'm touched.'

Iggy still had his hand clamped over Nudge's mouth but it didn't look like she was going to say anything highly obnoxious.

I looked over at Fang, expecting him to talk. He just stared angrily.

So much for talking.

'So, to whom to I owe this excellent meeting?' the Joker asked, his hands falling through the bars.

'Why is your hair green?' asked Gazzy suddenly. I didn't know why he had to ask it, but someone needed to say _something_.

The Joker stared down at the Gasman and raised both his eyebrows.

'Why did you do all that?' Fang spat. The Joker looked at him, chewed on his scars and said, 'What did I do?'

'Killed the old Commissioner. Those two cops. Tried to kill Max's dad' (it was weird when he put it like that) 'and chucked Max out a window.'

'Yeah, but _someone _came and saved her, didn't they?' asked the Joker, tilting his head slightly to the side. I heard Nudge sigh behind me and flared up at once.

'What is _wrong _with you?' I snapped at the Joker, holding Angel's hand tight. 'Actually, never mind, I know what's wrong with you: _you're crazy_.'

'I'm not,' he growled.

Angel was staring at him hard. 'That's horrible,' she said suddenly, her eyes widening.

'What is it, sweetie?' I asked with all the patience I could muster.

'Don't ever say that again,' the Joker said, staring at me. 'Doesn't work at _all _with your character.'

'What would you know about my character?' I asked through gritted teeth.

The Joker shrugged and said, 'Not much. I only met you last night, jeez – give me a break.'

'God, you're worse than Ari!' I snarled and glanced over at Iggy when I saw a guilty expression. 'What?'

'What's what?' Iggy said, trying to be innocent. I grabbed his wrist and said, '_Why did you look so guilty?_'

'Max, Ari's dead,' Fang said quickly.

My entire world slowed down for a second. Then went amazingly fast for another second, then thankfully back to normal.

'_What_?! I told you –'

'We didn't kill him,' Fang said angrily, stepping in front of me. 'He expired!'

I shook my head. This was too strange. This was insane. I had to get out of here.

'Max, are you okay?' asked Nudge.

I couldn't speak. Ari was dead. Ari was dead. Ari was _dead_.

'Ex_pired_, huh?' asked the Joker and I realised that he'd heard everything. 'Hm. Is this some fancy new slogan young people use?'

'You're not that old yourself,' Iggy snapped.

'Of course I'm not,' said the Joker, pulling his arms back through the bars. 'What are you, _blind_?'

Iggy flushed. For a second he did nothing. Then, with perfect accuracy, his fist flew through the bars and hit the Joker's face.

Blood spurted out of his nose and he stumbled back, laughing. 'Okay – _that _wasn't fair –'

'What the hell did you do?' the guard barked at Iggy and I ushered the flock away.

'Oh, and by the way beautiful,' the Joker called out after me, 'I killed _a lot _more people than those two cops.'

--

Wordlessly, I walked away from the flock, away from Tony, away from everything. I punched in an elevator number and waited for my floor. I needed to leave. Or die. Or beat up an Eraser so badly he couldn't walk anymore.

The doors opened and I ran up some stairs to the roof.

Opening the door, I felt the cool, night air around me. I breathed in, ran to the ledge and snapped out my wings, feeling the breeze rustle my feathers.

_You call the Joker a freak. _You _have wings!_

I told the Voice to shut up, then realised it wasn't the Voice talking – it was just me.

I was going crazy.

I jumped off the roof, falling about twenty feet before I managed to head upwards. I flew high up, where the oxygen is light, sort of like champagne.

And then I screamed my frustration to the world.

**Short, I know. Sorry. **

**Please review. O_o **


	8. Chapter 8

**Be warned. There is Fax.**

**I do not own Maximum Ride, that is James Patterson, nor do I own any Marvel or DC characters. I'm borrowing them, the flock and I are hanging out, watching the Master of Disguise.**

_**I'm going to be a master of disguise, I'm going to be master of disguise! :) **_

**Chapter Eight**

Thirty minutes later, Fang was waiting for me on the roof.

'Iggy heard you screaming,' he said.

'Great.'

'He said it was about last night. With the Joker.'

I flared up for no reason. 'Fang, can you get over it? Listen to me – I do not _like _the Joker in any way!' I clenched my fists. 'I don't know what's going on,' I whispered.

Fang's eyes had widened a fraction of an inch. 'I'd like to say I'm sorry about Ari.'

The one thing I'd managed to forget for _a second_ washed over me.

_Max, you have to save the world. Stop it, you're acting like a child, _the Voice said.

'I _AM _a child!' I yelled and Fang took a step back. This seemed to hurt even more inside. I fell into a sitting position on the cold concrete and fought the urge to start crying in frustration. 'It's just the stupid Voice, telling me about my stupid destiny,' I said, horrified that my voice sounded thick and watery, like I _was _going to cry. Tears brimmed in my eyes but I blinked a couple of times. I breathed in and out, but only breathing _in _seemed to work. I mean, whenever I breathed out, I felt like nothing except for a shred of dignity would stop me from crying.

Fang crouched down next to me. He awkwardly (at least, I thought it was awkward) put his left hand on my shoulder and tilted my chin up with his right.

'Just forget about it then.'

'What are you doing?' I asked lamely, sniffing.

Fang didn't reply. Instead, he leaned in and kissed me.

Okay, I've kissed about two people in my life: Sam, a normal human back in Colorado and Fang, back at a beach after being attacked by Erasers. But that only lasted for a second. This was like going on and on and on and –

I needed air but I didn't want to breathe. Fang had his hands on my waist but I didn't know what to do with mine. Damn it, why do I think so much?! Okay, okay, think – no, don't think! Don't think at all!

This was good. This should last forever. My mind slowly went blank as I didn't need to think anymore, the last sentence this one.

_Fang smells like Lebanese bread. Wait, Fang smells like Lebanese bread?_

After what seemed like years, Fang pulled away. Air rushed into my lungs and I gasped for another eternity as Fang watched me, grinning.

'Forget to breathe?'

I looked at him carefully and said, 'That shouldn't have happened.'

Fang stopped grinning. 'Why? What's wrong?'

'I don't think I deserve to feel that good, ever,' I said, giving him a small smile. 'No one does.'

Fang smiled back. 'We should probably get back down to the flock and Tony.'

I frowned. Walking back downstairs would be like walking back into a nightmare. I didn't want that, I wanted the memory of Fang to stick with me forever.

'Come on,' Fang said, standing up and holding out his hand.

I stood up _then _took his hand, quickly took it away and said, 'I don't want the flock to see –'

'They make jokes about it all the time.'

'My point exactly. And there's a _really_ big chance Tony would kill me.'

'I think he likes me.'

'Want him to hate you?'

Fang grinned and kissed my cheek. I felt joy spread through me from that spot. 'Whatever, Max.'

Thankfully, Fang and I weren't holding hands when we walked down to the rest of the flock and Tony.

'Where were you guys?' Tony asked, looking slightly confused as we came back.

'I went to the bathroom,' said Fang, 'and bumped into Max.'

'I walked up to the roof to get some fresh air,' I said truthfully.

Tony arched an eyebrow but Nudge said, 'Woo! Glad that's over. I'm hungry. Let's get pizza!'

I groaned inwardly but smiled when Fang said, 'Told you she has issues.'

--

The flock spent the night in my room, the younger kids and Total chatting about the events at the jail. I wasn't in it unless someone asked me a question, Fang just doesn't talk and Iggy –

Why wasn't Iggy in this conversation?

I looked over at where he was sleeping and saw he had his back turned. Fang, Nudge, Iggy and I were sleeping on the floor, I'd let Gazzy, Angel and (sadly) Total take my bed.

'Iggy,' I whispered but he didn't turn around. I glanced at Fang, who shrugged.

'I wish I could've said something to the Joker,' said Total. 'I would've bitten his fingers off if I could've!'

Gazzy snickered at the image of this and I crept over to Iggy. 'Ig –'

'Hey,' said Nudge, 'Iggy – really great punch on the Joker today –'

Iggy responded by sitting up so fast I fell backwards. He stared around the room with his sky-blue eyes then jumped up, opened the window and flew out.

'Iggy?!' Nudge asked and I said, 'I'll get him.' I followed Iggy out the window, trying to spot him. I saw a tall, pale figure down on a couple of rocks, legs dangling just above the crashing waves.

I zoomed down and sat cautiously next to him. 'Iggy. You okay?'

'I'm fine,' Iggy said, wiping his eyes with his sweatshirt sleeve.

'I'm going to repeat that. Iggy. You okay?'

Iggy glared at me and I swallowed. 'I'm not deaf as well!'

I remembered the similar conversation we'd had back in Colorado. 'Ig, I'm sorry.'

Iggy was silent.

'I… I don't know _why _you're getting worked up over some freak who _intended _for this to happen,' I said. 'I mean, he was just trying to annoy you.'

'Did a good job,' snapped Iggy. 'Do you know what it's like not being able to see? Who am I kidding, of _course _you don't! Max, I get worked up about it because it's TRUE!! I'm a blind, mutant freak who officially has no parents –'

'You don't _need _them, not after what they did to you!'

'Of _course _I need parents! Tony's not _my dad_, Max!'

'No. He's not. Iggy, your parents – just didn't get you. But _we do_. Gazzy get's you, Fang gets you, I get you – not too sure about Total.'

Iggy smiled quickly.

'But Iggy, you need to come with us. And if you don't, I'll kill you.'

Iggy looked in my direction and, without warning, hugged me. 'Thanks.'

'It's okay. Plus, I don't want you to be sad for your birthday.'

'Yeah, wow. I'm fifteen tomorrow. The joy of that.'

I was gonna make sure he enjoyed it.

--

Iggy's birthday started out great. When he woke up, Nudge jumped on him, yelling, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IGGY!!!' which I think stunned him for about three minutes.

After we'd given him presents, we said we'd make breakfast. Being Iggy, he simply rolled his eyes and made everyone scrambled eggs.

They were really good. And I made _sure _that no one said anything about his blindness, in case he heated up again. Iggy didn't seem to notice, what with all the younger kids and Tony talking to him.

I can't explain how much joy I felt when I saw Iggy smiling, not forced, he was enjoying all of it. I felt like sunlight had flooded every part of my body for a brief period of time.

Fang looked over at me and offered me some bacon.

'No, thanks,' I said, grinning.

The phone rang. I was in such a happy mood, I picked it up.

'Hello, Maximum Ride speaking.' (Yes, I kept Ride as my last name. Maximum Stark? Sounds weird.)

'Max, it's Jim Gordon.'

'Oh, the guy down at the police station… Commissioner. How was the funeral?' It sounded lame after I said it.

'Trouble free. Same boring speech from the mayor.'

I smiled, even though he couldn't see it.

'Do you want me to get Tony?'

'No, no, I can talk to you.' He sounded grim.

'Uh… okay.'

Gordon sighed. 'It's about the Joker.'

And just like that my day went to crap. I'd managed to get through one morning without remembering that guy and _wha-bamm!_ he's back in my head.

I walked into the next room, keeping a forced smile until the flock and Tony couldn't see me. 'Yeah?'

'He's out. Out of jail.'

I froze. 'What?' I asked casually.

'He got loose. He must have friends in the department.'

I blinked. 'Okay.'

There was a pause from the other end. 'You're not worried?'

'Not really.' My paranoia was on full time. Again.

Gordon sounded awkward. 'Well, I… I just wanted to let you know.'

'Thanks,' I said. 'Okay. Bye.'

'Bye.'

I hung up and slammed the phone down. Walking back into the kitchen, I smiled. 'It was just Gordon.'

'What was he talking about?' asked Tony, arching an eyebrow.

'Just stuff.' I wasn't going to tell them about the Joker. Not on Iggy's birthday. 'Hey, Iggy, where do you want to go today for you birthday?'

Iggy thought. 'Um…'

'The zoo!' said Nudge.

'It's Iggy's birthday,' Tony said.

But Iggy was nodding. 'The zoo sounds okay… I guess.'

'Are you sure, Ig?' I asked.

Iggy shrugged. 'Nothin else to do.'

'Except beat Fang in polka,' the Gasman said.

Fang rolled his eyes as Iggy grinned.

--

'Wow!' said Nudge, running up to the bars of the lion cage. 'Look at his mane.'

'Yeah, it's great,' Iggy said brightly and Nudge smiled sheepishly, apologising.

I, on the other hand, didn't really like the zoo. All these animals in cages… the last and first zoo I'd been to was in New York, last year. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

I glanced over at Fang, who was staring a large, golden eagle. It's fierce eyes looked back at Fang, unblinking. I walked over to him, put one hand on his shoulder and said, 'Wow, looks like us five or six years back.'

Fang stared at me.

'Okay, so I'm not Chris Rock,' I said, shrugging.

Fang smirked and said, 'Take your hand off my shoulder.'

I did as he said, only to find he started holding it.

Yep, that's right, folks. We were holding hands.

I swallowed, wondering if my palms were sweaty.

'You okay?' Fang asked. 'You look pale.'

I looked over at him and smiled. 'I'm fine.' And I was after he smiled back.

The eagle stared at us, then looked behind us. I followed its gaze and saw that Iggy and Nudge had moved on to find pandas, Gazzy was staring at meerkats and Angel, Total and Tony staring at the lions. At least, Angel and Total were; Tony was staring at me and Fang.

To my absolute horror, I blushed, but I made up my mind. I didn't care. I would still go with Fang even if Tony told me not to. I tried to change my blushing to a glare.

But, to my surprise, Tony smiled and winked at me. My eyes widened and I nodded, slightly relieved. He grinned and looked like he was trying not to laugh at my surprised expression and I rolled my eyes at him.

I looked back at the eagle and, feeling more comfortable, leaned my head on Fang's shoulder.

--

For dinner, on Iggy's request, we had pizza. In a restaurant (ooh, tacky).

'Well, guys,' Iggy said, after swallowing a massive bite of pizza, 'I'm now officially a fifteen-year-old blind mutant freak.' Gazzy slapped high fives with him, practically chugging his coke.

I smiled and sipped my lemonade. Fang had been giving me glances all day after the zoo and I could tell he just wanted it to be over.

'Max,' Angel whispered to me and squeezed my hand.

'Yes, sweetie?'

'I have to tell you something.'

'Okay. Shoot.'

'No, no,' Angel said, shifting out of her seat and pulling my hand, ignoring that Total fell off her lap. I was surprised by this and said, 'Guys, I'll be back in a minute.'

I followed Angel as she pulled me outside. After a minute, she found a nice, dark place where no moonlight was showing. What was up with the precaution.

The sudden thought that she sensed the Joker or Erasers around made me jump.

'Max – I saw the Joker's thoughts.'

Oookay. 'What?' I asked, blank.

'I saw his thoughts, last night. Remember?' Angel asked impatiently.

No. 'Uh, okay. Is that all you wanted to say?'

'No,' said Angel, shaking her head. 'I need to tell someone.'

'Okay, what are his thoughts like?' I asked, dreading the answer.

'Dark. Confused. Red. Scary,' Angel said, shaking her head. I tried not to raise one eyebrow at this comment.

'Okay, sweetie. Do you wanna go inside again?'

'Okay.'

Well, that was one of the most random moments of my life.

'And he really likes you, Max,' said Angel, just as I opened the door to go back inside.

I grimaced. Was it the chucking out the window or the putting a knife up to me part he enjoyed?

Back inside, everyone was fine. Iggy and Tony were in a discussion about their pizza, Gazzy and Nudge were playing Tic Tac Toe and Fang was simply staring at the door, holding Total, waiting for me and Angel to come back inside.

'Hey,' he said as I sat down. 'What happened?'

'Nothing,' I said but I gave him my 'I'll tell you later' look. He nodded and took a large swig of my lemonade.

**Hope you enjoyed! I like writing as Max, even if I don't get her character right. Oh, well. **

**Please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here it is. Chapter Nine.**

**Chapter Nine**

At 12:01 am, my window opened. Fang looked over at me and smiled. 'Come on.'

'What?' I whispered. 'Why?'

'Because we can.'

Which, sadly, was a good enough answer for me.

We flew down to the beach the flock had sat at a couple of nights ago. A lot of things had changed since then. Like Tony knew. Iggy was fifteen. The Joker was a lot more involved. Ari was dead.

Fang liked me. And I liked him back.

'So,' he said, sitting down on one of the sandy boulders, taking off his sweatshirt and tying it around his waist, 'have a fun day?'

'Uh. It was okay.'

_The zoo was the best part, _shrieked the hopeless romantic inside my head.

Fang was silent. 'What happened at the restaurant?'

I shrugged. 'Nothing amazingly exciting. Angel told me what it was like inside the Joker's head.'

'She went inside the Joker's head?'

'Well, she's not really picking up everything on his mind, it's more like… well, whenever I seem to ask, she says stuff like "Dark. Angry. Scary. Confused. Red. Oh, and he really likes you, Max." All that stuff.'

'The Joker?' 

'No, the telephone poll man.'

Fang shrugged. 'Mind you, it's probably pretty hard _not _to like you.'

I stared at him. 'What?'

Fang slipped off his boulder and flew up to mine. There we were, staring at the full moon, watching the grey clouds slip through the endless blackness.

I should post something like that on Fang's Blog. Hm.

**A Poem **

**As I sit here, on this boulder**

**My head leaning on Fang's shoulder**

**Watching the clouds fly through the sky**

**Moments like these can pass you by**

**Fang makes a joke and I start to smile**

**I rub his shoulders and we sit for a while**

**I know this would be the greatest night**

_**If the Joker would start leaving my mind alone!!!!**_

Somehow, I don't think I would post that. One, because it sickens me and two, because I wouldn't like Fang to know that I haven't been able to stop thinking about the Joker since I tried to fall asleep three hours ago.

Well, at least the Voice wasn't invading.

Fang hadn't actually told a joke and my head wasn't actually leaning on Fang's shoulder (which I'm kind of thankful for), that was just my crappy hopeless romantic who I'd found twenty minutes ago was a resident of my head.

I sighed and Fang, who put his arm around my shoulders, making the hopeless romantic go ecstatic, said, 'What's up?'

'Nothing.'

'Yeah, right: Max. I've known you for fifteen years now. I know when your thinking about the whole "absolutely horrible weapon of destruction that would destroy the world" thing. It's okay, you can tell me.'

Uh… no, I can't.

_Max_, the Voice said and I prepared myself for all hell to break loose inside my head, _you can tell Fang. You can tell Fang anything now that your… together_.

The Voice never displays any emotion but I was _sure _I heard sarcasm when it said 'together.'

And Fang did me the pleasure of getting it back. He kissed me again.

After three looong minutes, Fang pulled away, both of us wide-eyed. Fang grinned at me and said, 'You look kinda like your gonna faint or something.'

Which probably was going to happen. I nearly fell of the rock, but Fang grabbed me, pulling me back up and wrapping his arms around me, creating my safety. I felt like nothing could harm me (which is so horrifyingly pathetic I wanted to punch myself).

We stayed there for the rest of the night, just hugging and sitting on a boulder.

--

The next day, the flock were as bright as sunshine. We couldn't find Tony but he left a note saying he was at a business meeting for Stark Industries.

Being me, I expected that this was some note from the Erasers, trying to ruin my life until Fang showed me another note with Tony's handwriting and showed me that all the words were spelled the same.

I was about to say forgery, but Fang gave me a look that meant, 'Don't.'

'Well,' said Total, snatching Angel's bacon off her plate, 'I want to know how come last night I didn't get any pizza.'

'Cause you're a _dog_,' Gazzy said. 'It would've looked a little strange if we were giving pizza and garlic bread to a dog. Remember the waiter didn't even want you in there?'

'Yeah, then he saw Tony and asked for an autograph,' Iggy said, nodding.

Total flared up and said, 'Oh, because I'm a _dog _I can't fit in with the rest of humanity?'

'Yes,' said everyone but Angel in unison.

'It's just because he was afraid of having you in the restaurant,' she said, gathering up the little Scottie dog. 'Being so tough and all, he thought you would scare away his customers.'

I glanced at Nudge and we both tried not to laugh.

Fang stared out the window, looking not the least bit tired. I'd already had my forty minutes of REM, all our sleeping patterns are permanently screwed.

Iggy stacked all the plates in the sink and Nudge turned on the TV.

'The woman will never walk again,' the reporter was saying. I rolled my eyes. Turning on the news was like turning on the most depressing thing in the world.

'Also, a police officer confirms the Joker _is _out of jail,' the reporter continued and there was a crash as Iggy dropped a plate. Nudge hastily cleaned it up as a colour picture of the Joker sitting in his cell, arching an eyebrow at the camera. 'The men who accompanied him to a white van say that the last thing they saw was the Joker, handcuffed, with an Arkham professor next to him and a older man driving. The police are doing everything they can, but please let people still take precautions.' The screen flicked back to the reporter. 'Coming up next, another Arkham professor claims she knows who the Joker's parents are.'

An ad for some soap opera came on and Fang said, 'I'd actually like to watch what's coming up next.'

'We already know,' Gazzy said, confused.

'Wanna know if she does?' Fang asked, using his hollow _The Twilight Zone_ voice.

I was staring at the TV, my anger practically vibrating off me. I hated that news report more than Ari himself. I swallowed and thought of Jeb, the man who'd fostered the flock, died and come back a few years later, joined with the whitecoats. It scared me when I realised I hated the Joker more than Jeb.

The news came back on. 'And now, the woman who claims to know the Joker's parents. Jennifer.'

The screen switched to two blond women, sitting in arm chairs. One of them was considerably prettier than the other and I recognised her as Harleen Quinzel – the Joker's mother.

'That's his mom!' I shouted, jumping over to the couch.

'Whose?' asked Angel.

'The Joker,' said Gazzy, catching on. Iggy and Nudge joined us.

'Is she gonna lie?' asked Iggy.

'Shh!' said Nudge as the reporter, Jennifer, began to speak.

'Thanks, Rob. I'm here with Harleen Quinzel, who claims to know who the Joker is and who his parents are.' Jennifer looked over at Harley. 'So, Harleen, how do you know this man?'

Harley smiled prettily and said, 'His dad was one of my friends and he let me move in. I've known him ever since he was a baby.'

'Really?' asked Jennifer, interested. 'And do you happen to know how he got those scars?'

Harley's lips trembled and I was sure she was thinking of what Jack had done to her son. 'No. I wasn't there.'

Jennifer nodded. 'Also, a question from the audience – after a story the Joker told Max Stark – oops, sorry – Max Ride, Tony Stark's daughter, this anonymous person would like to know: did the Joker have a sister?'

Harley shook her head. 'No.'

'Max!' Nudge said. 'They just mentioned you on TV!'

'At least they got your name right,' Fang said.

'Shut up,' Iggy hissed.

'All right,' said Jennifer, making it sound like she was practically going to say, 'Drum roll, please.' She shifted in her seat and said, 'Who are the Joker's parents?'

Harley swallowed and said, 'My… my husband, Jack Napier and me.'

People in the audience were screaming in amazement and anger.

'Bet Jack didn't want her to say that,' I said coldly.

'Probably not,' Fang said. 'Won't be surprised if she has scars by next Tuesday.'

Jennifer was too stunned to even ask, 'What's his real name?' or something like that: she just sat there, open mouthed, and staring over at the pretty woman who looked amazingly frightened.

'I'm sorry,' she said to the camera, close to tears. I didn't know if she was talking to Jack or the Joker. 'I'm so, so _sorry_.'

The screen changed back to Rob, who didn't say anything for a moment, then, 'I hope that woman has excellent security.' He didn't say it sarcastically, either.

--

Harley ran out the back door, gulping for air. She couldn't breathe, she was terrified. Mr J would be _so angry_. He'd told her to say it was her friends, no involvement of them whatsoever… but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to do that to her son… if he cared at all…

Harley ran down an alleyway and tripped, grazing her knees and hands. She had tears running down her face and she whispered, 'I'm just as crazy as both of them. I'm so… so…'

'Insecure?' someone behind her said and she turned around to see the Joker, leaning against a wall.

'I…'

'Oh, and by the way, I'm _not_…_ crazy_,' the Joker growled, walking over to her. Harley saw him chew on his scars for a second then say, 'I think you'd be better off if you didn't go home tonight. Unless you want, y'know…' He pointed to his scars. '_These_.'

Harley blinked. 'I'm his wife. Jack wouldn't do that to me.'

'Uh-huh. I'm his _son_. I'm actually _related _to him. And your not actually his wife, and he's not your husband, you're not married,' the Joker added, starting to walk away.

'I'm still your mother,' Harley said, feeling broken as her son walked away.

The Joker turned and glared at her. Harley swallowed visibly and he said, 'Like I said, don't go home. And I'm _not joking_, here.'

--

'Oh, my God,' Nudge said for the thirtieth time. 'His mom is so pretty.'

'Makes you wonder how it's possible,' said Total, shaking his head.

I sighed and looked around. The news was now talking about lung cancer and so on, but I was thinking other things. Like I was actually worried about Harley.

'D'you guys think we should try and help Harley?' Iggy asked cautiously.

'What's the point?' I asked. 'Either Jack's looking for her or the Joker is. Jack's got a lot of guys, he could find her easily… and thanks but no thanks, I don't need another meeting with the Joker.'

Angel looked over at me curiously. 'What about that dream last night –?' My eyes widened and everyone turned towards me.

'Max had a dream about the Joker?' Total chortled.

'Oh, God,' said Iggy. 'He had a shirt on, right?'

'You sicken me,' I said, staring at him.

Fang looked over at me and I shook my head hastily. 'No, actually, I _didn't _have a dream about the Joker, thank _you_.'

Fang relaxed and ran a hand through his hair. I swallowed and pushed the dream from my mind.

**Please review? :b**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN!!! I'm on a roll! (kidding).**

**Amazingly short, please don't hate me for it.**

**Chapter Ten**

It was eleven. Tony had finally gotten back from that meeting an hour ago. He looked slightly irritated and just told us he was going downstairs. Ten seconds later, Iron Man was flying out of the house. The flock and I had taken this as a good opportunity to fly.

Forty minutes of zooming around like hyperactive mutant birds kids made Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy and Angel look like they would fall asleep if they had somewhere to fall on. After we got back to my room, they _had _fallen asleep, Total curled up next to Angel. I looked at Fang, who gave me a nod good night and fell asleep.

It was eleven at night and I was the only one awake. I looked around the room, watching the shadows flicker on my walls, listening to the peaceful breathing of the flock. I looked over at Fang and smiled. He frowned in his sleep and curled his hand into a fist.

I tried to sleep but I couldn't. I looked at my clock. 11:32. Maybe I hadn't flown around enough.

I ran into the kitchen, scrawled a note for Tony and the flock and ran out the door. A minute later I ran back inside and grabbed a jumper, it was _freezing _outside.

I flew down the long driveway, trying to find a place where I could just sit for a while. There was nothing.

I flew higher and let my feet hang below me. I flapped for a second then dropped. I felt a familiar rush of joy as the wind rushed past me, as my hair flew around my face.

I closed my eyes and let the joy wash over me. I didn't get many moments like this. I opened my eyes, smiling, and looked down.

'AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!'

I landed on the top of a tall building, grazing myself badly. At least this roof wasn't slanted, just flat. I shook my head, fell over, pulled myself back up and went to the edge of the building, looking down.

It was Gotham's main street. All the lights and the people and the loud car honks reminded me of New York. It was quite breathtaking, in a way.

I sighed and someone behind me stuttered, 'Wha… what did…?'

I turned around and saw a pale face with large blue eyes and blond hair. I swallowed as I realised it was Harley Quinn.

'You're… you're the Joker's…' I managed.

'And you're Tony Stark's…'

We stared at each other and she said, smiling sadly, 'I guess you saw me on the news today, huh?'

I didn't reply.

'I'm a complete idiot for telling those people.'

'Why are you here?' I asked, getting ready to take off. No one would believe her.

Harley looked frightened. 'I don't want him to find me.'

'The Joker?' I asked.

'No. Jack.' She looked at me in confusion. 'I bumped into my son earlier.'

'Riiight.'

She shook her head. 'You're young, you wouldn't understand.'

Yeah, right.

'Try me,' I said, nodding.

Harley smiled. 'Yeah, why were _you _flying?' she asked sarcastically, no trace of the scared woman there.

All right, time to go.

I turned around when the door to the roof opened. Harley screamed and I turned.

Jack Napier was standing on the roof. 'Hello, Harley,' he said, closing the door. Harley looked over at me with eyes that meant, 'GET OUT OF HERE.'

But I was thinking. I could take Harley with me, but that would be helping the woman who spawned Satan himself.

But Harley hadn't done anything wrong… had she?

I made up my mind; I leaned over to grab her wrist.

Harley spun round, looking insane, and punched me in the gut… so hard I was actually winded. Gasping for air, I fell backwards, off the roof.

Harley had made up _her _mind while I'd been making up mine…

I snapped out my wings and flew towards what I hoped was a deserted park, praying that she was okay.

--

I landed next to a park bench. I sat down and realised I was practically burning up. Tearing off my jumper, I looked around the park. The moonlight was making the bright-coloured plastic playground look eerie and I saw someone who looked a lot older than seven swinging on a flying fox, hitching their feet up off the ground. After ten minutes, they got bored and walked off.

When I was sure this person was gone, I walked over to a swing. Grabbing the cold chains, I sat down, breathing in deeply. I was still a little confused about Harley and thought that even if I had taken her with me, I wouldn't have anywhere to put her. And she would've been found sooner or later.

I trailed my sneakers in the mulch, and realised with a jolt my wings were still out.

I cursed myself for being so stupid and that the person on the flying fox could have seen me. Then again… if they had seen me, they might have thought I was a gargoyle of some sort. Stuff like that could happen in Gotham.

I knew I should tuck my wings in, but they were burning and the cold night air was doing them good.

I decided a few more minutes and swung slightly.

I started humming tunelessly. I don't why, but I did. It sounded eerie, creepy, haunting, dark. But I liked the sound of it and kept it up. It sort of… echoed in a way, like the park was taking in my noise and letting it roam around.

I don't know how long I was humming for. I looked up at the sky, still humming and realised happily that you could actually see the stars. Every couple of minutes, a shooting star would go _whoooosh_ across the sky. I expected one of them to be Tony, but it never was.

Finally, I looked back down at my feet. I wanted to fly up with the stars, but I knew I couldn't. Everything felt magical for some reason. Like J.R.R. Tolkien or something from those Frodo movies. Like it was dark and scary and my weird humming was the theme song.

I grinned at the idea of this and stopped humming. Everything sounded quiet.

I stopped swinging and decided to go. I stood up and someone said, 'I just _walked _all the way here, don't go _now_.'

I whipped around, wings still out and hate flooding through me. The Joker was leaning against a tree, arms crossed. 'Take pity on me,' he said sarcastically, nodding at my wings, 'I'm just a mere mortal.'

**--**

**Cliff hanger…. **

**Please review, **

**-grimmylikesazrael **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, I am jealous of the people who do. X(**

**Chapter Eleven**

'What are you doing here?' I snarled viciously. I was proud of how angry I sounded.

The Joker raised his hands and said, 'I was just looking for a place to sit down.'

'There's a park bench over there,' I snapped, pointing to the place I'd been probably twenty minutes ago.

The Joker looked around and said, 'I like it here. Over there looks…' He unconsciously licked his lips. 'Over there looks creepy.'

'Your point?' I said, crossing my arms.

The Joker rolled his eyes and said, 'Y'know, those retorts of yours – I really don't know how you come up with them.'

That I replied to by punching him in the face as hard as I could.

He fell sideways, landing on all fours. I kicked him hard in the stomach and I heard him choking and gasping.

For a second, I thought he was in pain. But to my absolute annoyance, he rolled over so he could look at me, just trying not to laugh.

'You get angry just a _little too easily_,' he said, grinning. His scars made the smile look wider.

I glared at him but I was angry at myself. I felt pathetic. I'd messed up big time tonight: three people had seen my wings, and maybe a couple more.

I turned around and crossed my arms.

'You don't need to sulk about it,' the Joker said, sitting down at one of the swings I'd been on seconds ago.

I glared at him but said nothing. He smirked.

'Well, now that you've found your place in this world, I'm gonna head off,' I said, turning around, ready to leave.

'So, where'd you get those?'

I turned around _again _and said, 'What?'

'Those,' the Joker said, nodding at my wings. I looked at the colour: they were dark brown, splashed with white and the undersides were ivory with brown speckles.

My wings kicked _butt_.

'I don't remember,' I lied.

The Joker smiled and said, 'Uh-huh…'

I stared at him blankly. 'What?'

'Nothin'.'

I rolled my eyes. 'If it's okay with you, I'm gonna –'

'You're lying,' he interrupted.

'About what?' I asked, arching an eyebrow.

'You _do _know. You just don't wanna tell me.'

'And why wouldn't I want to do that?' I asked sarcastically.

The Joker chewed his scars and looked back at the playground in disgust.

'God. Eleven years and this place _still _hasn't changed.'

'What?'

The Joker rolled his eyes at me. 'I'm saying,' he said very slowly, 'that I have not been here for eleven years and this place does not look – actually, they repainted it,' he added at normal speed.

I rolled my eyes quickly and sat down on the other swing. I was sitting here with the most feared man in Gotham and the only reason was I was _sure _he was going to say something about where he came from. Something I could tell the flock.

'So… who's this Ari character?' the Joker said suddenly.

I didn't say anything. I didn't want to say anything.

'I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that the silence means you don't wanna talk about it,' said the Joker. He stood up and walked behind me.

I stood up, thinking. I wanted to know why he was _really _here. That sentence played over and over in my mind.

I suddenly remembered who my company was and whipped around just as the Joker put something cold and sharp up to my neck. I swallowed and his other hand pushed my fringe off of my face.

_Okaaay, I could really use some help right now. Voice, anything? Please? _

_Max, you're not helpless. You never are. _

I let my instincts take over and kneed the Joker in the stomach.

He let go of the knife, and I pushed him off of me. 'Can you say the word "sexist"?' I growled and turned, running. I jumped up onto the monkey bars, jumped _off _and flapped my wings, taking me away from what just happened.

--

I showed up at about two am.

To my utter surprise, Tony was back and was looking slightly jittery.

'Where were you?'

'I left a note… flying…' I said.

'Yeah, at eleven?'

'Well, _you _were flying at eleven.' Lame excuse but it was all I had.

Tony rolled his eyes. 'Well _that _reply stumped me.'

What was it with my replies tonight? It disgusted me that I'd actually just talked to the Joker in person _again_ and hadn't run off quicker.

I walked to my room. 'Are the flock awake?'

'No,' Tony said in a bored voice.

'Good.' I opened my door quietly and saw Fang was awake. He looked at me questioningly. 'What happened?' he asked in a low voice.

'I went flying.'

'You look pale.'

'I…' I suddenly didn't want to tell Fang about the Joker. He might get jealous or whatever again _for no reason _and not talk to me.

I didn't want that.

'I bumped into Harley Quinn,' I said, sitting down next to him.

'How was she?'

'Scared. Seriously terrified. She saw my wings.'

Fang glared at me.

'Fang, I landed on a roof and I didn't know she was there! We talked for five seconds then Jack –'

'Jack? You encountered the Joker's _parents_?'

'Yeah, hope I never do again. His dad's got _serious _issues!'

'Worse than Nudge?'

'Not funny,' I said thought I was trying not to smile. 'Look, I tried to save her but she pushed me off the roof.'

'Did Jack see your wings?'

'Most likely.'

Fang sighed. 'Let's hope they don't come in contact with their son real soon.'

'Why not? Jack would probably finish him off.'

Fang smiled and said, 'Get some sleep, Max.'

--

It was an overcast day but everything looked white. I was at the playground, on one of the swings. I didn't know _how _I'd gotten there and why I wasn't wearing my combat boots. I felt something cold and wet under my feet. I looked down and saw my feet were trailing in _snow_.

I looked around the playground. There were some smaller kids, maybe nine or ten and wearing jackets and beanies, playing there and none of them had noticed me. I shivered and realised I was wearing only jeans and a shirt. I rubbed my arms, hugging myself when I noticed a boy was sitting on the swing next to me. He hadn't noticed me and he looked older than the kids playing, maybe my age.

'Hey,' I said, 'look, I know this is gonna sound like a weird question but how long have I been here?'

He didn't answer me. He was looking down, his stringy brown and blond hair covering his face.

'Hellooo?'

No answer.

'Are you deaf?' I asked. He didn't answer me. _I'm dreaming_, I suddenly realised. _And no one can see me._ I observed the boy's clothes: he was wearing a black trench coat that was ratty at the ends, gray jeans, and I could see he had a scarf.

A snowball hit his back and he looked up, glaring back at the kids behind him, who had been giggling until they saw how scary he looked angry.

He was pale and had black rings under his dark eyes. He had large scars going up the sides of his mouth and I realised with a jolt that this was the Joker when he was fifteen.

Freaked out at why I'd be dreaming something like this, I watched one of the little kids actually scream and run back off to the playground.

The younger Joker actually smiled for a second then licked his lips, standing up and walking through the cold snow. I couldn't think of anything else to do so I followed him.

'Hey, I'm guessing you can't hear me, but could you slow down?' I called after him. I ran up next to him and waved my hand in front of his face. 'You're a freak,' I said, waiting for the results. He didn't say anything, just shoved his hands in his pockets.

'Hey!' someone yelled out and the Joker and I turned in unison. A younger boy with blond hair and a blue beanie threw a snowball at us/him/whatever. It missed by six feet.

The Joker nodded and said, 'Nice throw.' His voice sounded different. I didn't know how, but it just did.

He turned and kept walking, finally onto a concrete path. I followed him, feet freezing. If this was a dream, _why did everything feel so real?_

_It's not a dream, Max,_ said the Voice, _it's a memory_.

I blinked. _If it's a memory, why am I in it? _

The Voice was silent. Then, _Just keep watching._

I did as it said and stared at the younger Joker.

We walked through a part of Gotham I didn't know. _Where am I?_

_Gotham's bad side_, the Voice said.

_Any specific names?_

The Voice didn't answer and I groaned. The Joker walked past an alleyway and I saw that four people were crouched in there, holding onto each other.

I felt so horrible after I saw that. I felt like crying or screaming. I could if I wanted to, no one would notice.

But I was Max. That couldn't happen.

I wiped my eyes hastily and stopped as the Joker did, in front of a grey house.

The Joker opened the door and walked in. The first thing I saw was Harley, sitting at a table, drinking coffee, wearing a white lab coat (which made my blood boil) and glasses, reading over a patients report. 'Hi, Puddin,' she said, smiling at the Joker, who sat down at another chair. 'How was school?'

The Joker arched an eyebrow. 'It's Saturday, there's no school,' he said.

'That's great, honey,' Harley said absent-mindedly, still reading the patients report. The Joker rolled his eyes and walked out, down a hallway, up the stairs and opened a door.

My jaw dropped when I saw what his room was like. It didn't really have anything in it, just a bed in a corner, a cabinet next to the bed with a lamp and a radio, a book shelf and a closet. There was a large amount of holes in the walls as though someone's fist had flown through it.

I looked around the room, which was a yellowy white colour and swallowed hard.

The Joker lay down on his bed, turned on his radio which began blurting out something that sounded like Kurt Cobain, took out a pack of cards and began shuffling through them.

I sat down at the end of his bed. 'When's your dad coming home?' I asked quietly.

To my utter surprise, the Joker sat up suddenly, right next to me. I fell off his bed and he stood up, not looking down at me.

I swore then realised I heard a door closing and footsteps.

'Hi, Mr J,' Harley said brightly and the Joker ran towards his closet. I thought for a second he was going to hide in it, but instead he opened another door _in _the closet and walked in. I followed, interested.

It turned out to be a sort of attic-like thing. And there was a grate that showed what was going on in the living room.

The Joker leaned over the grate. I looked down too. It was just Jack and Harley, talking. Harley was hugging Jack, walking about how great he looked and yadda, yadda, yadda and I grinned when I saw the Joker roll his eyes next to me and start mouthing everything Harley was saying, as though he'd heard it a million times, which he must have.

'Is he here?' Jack asked, holding his hand over Harley's mouth to get her to shut up. The Joker tensed next to me.

Harley looked worried. 'Mr J…'

'I got a letter from his school,' said Jack, still grinning and the Joker swore quietly. I couldn't believe it, but I felt slightly sorry for him. He was afraid of his father, _really _afraid of his father.

'What…?'

'He set fire to one of the lab tables,' said Jack and the Joker grinned for a second. 'Everything burns,' he said quietly.

'And also most of my knives are missing,' Jack added, looking around. Did he feel like someone was watching him?

The Joker put a hand in his trench coat pocket and swallowed visibly. Jack looked up and stared straight at his son, whose eyes widened.

'There you are,' said Jack, moving out of my view and I heard footsteps indicating Jack was running up the stairs. The Joker looked at door that he'd left open and licked his lips just as Jack walked into his room.

Jack walked to the door but his son was quicker; the Joker slammed the attic door shut and bolted it then slumped against the door, listening to his father yelling.

_Time to go, Max_, said the Voice and I woke up, shivering to see the flock standing over me.

'What?' I asked, looking around.

'You were talking in your sleep,' Iggy said, looking worried.

'More like screaming,' Nudge said.

I swallowed and looked over at Fang. 'What did I say?' I asked casually.

'Well, one time you said something about someone setting fire to a table and you sounded kinda like you were chuckling,' said Gazzy. 'We thought that was Iggy.'

'Hey!' said Iggy. 'I resent that.'

I wanted to roll my eyes but couldn't. 'What else?'

'Lots of things,' said Nudge, 'at first you asking if anyone could hear you and we thought you were awake, so Fang said yes, but you just kept asking.'

'Then you started yelling about how he needed to get away and how you couldn't help him,' Angel said, staring at me with her big blue eyes.

'And you're crying,' Fang added, staring at me.

I wiped my eyes and said, 'Oh.' I looked out the window. It was snowing outside.

**Please review, it is mucho appreciated. Hope you enjoyed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**All right, I'm not a fan of this chapter… it's just pretty much talking over some of the events in the last chapter. Totally okeydokey if you hate it.**

**--**

**Chapter Twelve **

I felt like an idiot. I woke up _crying _over a dream which involved _nothing _I care about to find the flock telling me I'd been freaking screaming about it.

So I had to act all, 'Oh. Okay, no biggie. Just had a crazy dream. Oops, I mean someone else's memory!'

I wanted to break a plate, find the sharpest piece and _stab myself _with it.

Well, I suppose I wouldn't have, but I just felt pathetic.

Plus, to make the start of the day even better, Angel asked if we could go to the park!

The flock of course loved the idea and I wasn't gonna tell them, 'No way!'

So here we were. I was sitting on the same swing I'd sat on last night and in my dream, letting my combat boots trail through the snow, ignoring the younger kiddies running around on the equipment unless Angel and Nudge called for me to look at them.

Fang, Iggy and the Gasman were having a snowball fight and occasionally you'd hear the Gasman shriek, 'I got him!' or 'Missed me!' or Fang laughing. Oh, and Iggy yelling sarcastically, 'Ow! Don't hit me, I'm _blind_! That's against the rules, I'm disabled!'

Total was sleeping on a park bench, ears twitching. His legs would move occasionally and he'd start whining.

I sighed, trying to take my mind off my dream. I looked over at the swing next to me, expecting someone to be there. It was unoccupied.

Of course, my stupid mind gave me a sudden flashback of the dream. For a split second, I was staring at a boy my age sitting on the swing. Then he was gone.

_Mind, _I told it, _don't ever do that again_.

_I was trying to help, Maximum, _the Voice said and I rolled my eyes. This day just keeps gettin' better and better. _I was trying to make you feel better._

I clenched my fists in frustration. 'What makes you think that would make me _feel _better?' I asked through clenched teeth, gaining a concerned look from a small child.

_You wanted someone to sit next to you._

'Not him!' I snapped, not caring if anyone was watching. 'If anyone, it'd be Fang.'

_I can't make that happen_, said the Voice.

'Then why bother doing anything?' I said quietly, looking down at my boots. I had my jeans rolled up and I was wearing two shirts, my jacket and a scarf.

I half wanted to go find that building where the Joker had lived – I mean, I could remember the way there. But no way in _hell _was I gonna do it alone. Maybe Fang could help me find it…

'Max!' Angel yelled happily and I looked over, forcing a smile as she jumped off the equipment. I noticed that Nudge had joined the snowball fight and was on Iggy's side.

Angel sat on the swing (finally, someone else had) and smiled widely, looking amazingly cute in her white beanie and scarf. 'Are you okay?'

'Of course, sweetie.'

Angel stared at me for a moment and I pushed all my sad thoughts away.

_Think of Fang, flying on a pink unicorn, in a land of rainbows, _I thought and I nearly cracked up from the mental image, in which Fang happened to be wearing pink.

'You're not,' Angel said, frowning.

'Angel, I'm fine. Really.'

'Max, I saw your dream.'

Crap.

'Uh…'

'It's okay,' said Angel casually, swinging slightly now. 'I reckon it's cool you got to see the Joker as a kid. It's kinda weird…

'I know, baby, I know. Angel? Can you not tell anyone this?' Especially Fang. Well, actually, Fang could know about the whole wanting to find where the Joker had lived part…

'I won't tell Fang about the rest,' Angel said, nodding.

I grinned. 'Yeah. Oh, and don't tell Nudge about it _at all_. I don't want her to even _think _about the Joker being fifteen.'

Angel grinned. 'Can I tell her about Fang on the unicorn?'

We stared at each other for a moment then cracked up. 'Yep,' I said, grinning as Angel stopped giggling. 'Tell anyone you _want _about Fang on the unicorn. Add in all the pink details, too,' I called as she ran off, grinning widely when she reached Nudge.

I looked around the park and, within minutes, saw Fang, walking towards me, snow through his dark hair. He looked happy. 'So I hear I have a pink unicorn,' he said, sitting on the swing next to me. Warmness flooded through me and I smiled. 'Crazy dream I had.'

Fang smiled, leaned over and kissed my cheek. 'Sounds like fun. Iggy had a fit about it.'

I shrugged and smiled, looking around.

'Also, Angel said you had something to tell me.' He sighed and I swallowed. 'She said you wanted me to help you find something…'

I nodded. I had to tell Fang. 'That dream I had last night…'

Fang became serious. 'Yeah?'

'It was about the Joker.'

Fang stared. 'So you _did _have a dream about him.'

'He wasn't shirtless, don't worry,' I said hastily. 'I mean, the Voice told me it was kind of… a memory.'

Fang nodded.

'Well, what happened was, I was on _this _swing and… and this boy, who was the Joker when he was fifteen, was on _your _swing and it was snowing, like now. No one could see me, cause it was a memory, right?'

'Yeah.'

'And… well, I followed the Joker back to his place.'

'His place?'

'His house. Y'know, with his mom and his dad?'

'Yeah. 'Course.'

'And... Fang, it's taking me a serious effort to say this, but I felt sorry for him.'

Fang stared at me. 'What?'

'Well…'

'Max, you're kidding.'

'No, Fang, listen! His dad was seriously mean. Like… I'll tell you if we can find it.'

'And if we don't?'

'We'll have to keep searching coz I'll have trouble explaining.'

Fang actually smiled, nodded and kissed my cheek again. 'Iggy!' he yelled.

'Yes?' Iggy's head popped up from behind a mound of white, snow all through his hair.

'You're in charge. Me and Max are gonna head off.'

'Ew!' Iggy yelled. 'Don't do anything disgusting.'

I scrunched up a snowball and threw it at him.

'Ow, hold fire, Gazzy!' he yelled.

'That was Max,' Gazzy said from a couple of metres away.

Iggy rolled his eyes. 'Whatever.'

--

Fang followed me through The Bad Part Of Gotham, as the Voice put it. It was kinda scary, but we were pretty sure we could fend off whatever. We walked for a while, not really talking.

I turned a couple of corners and then – _ta-daaa_. The grey house was there, looking unused. Which it probably had been for maybe eleven years.

I walked through the snowy garden, everything looking the same as it had in my dream, only one of the front windows of the house were broken.

'This where he lived?' Fang asked, walking close behind me.

'Yep,' I swallowed.

Fang whistled and I opened the door.

Everything was covered in a layer of dust. I walked up the stairs, feeling a little strange. I'd been here in my dream and now this.

I walked to the door that would lead to the Joker's room but waited. Fang walked up wordlessly and opened it.

The Joker's room looked like the rest of the house: dusty. I noticed there were more fist holes in the walls. He did have two more years of this place, didn't he? Now that I was up close, some of the holes looked bigger than the others.

'Wow,' Fang said, brushing some dust off the bed. 'Who made the holes?'

I put my finger up to a large one. 'I think that one was made by Jack.'

Fang held his fist up to another one and mimed punching through. 'Pretty sure this wasn't.'

I felt depressed in this place. Why had I asked Fang to come here with me?

Oh, yeah to explain stuff.

'So, this is why you felt sorry for him?' Fang asked, right on cue.

I nodded slightly.

'Anything else that made you feel sorry?' Fang asked.

'He got two snowballs chucked at him – one missed – but that was funny.'

Fang smiled for a second then walked around the room. 'All in all, looks like a depressing place to grow up in.'

I opened the closet and saw the door there. I opened it and walked into the room. It was dustier than the rest of the house and I saw my boots leaving prints. I gestured for Fang to follow and he walked in.

'You dream being in here?'

'Of course.' I looked down at the grate. 'His dad came home and he ran in here.' I lay down, not caring about the dust. Fang followed suit. 'He was watching them talking through here. Jack was saying that he got a letter from the school… that the Joker had set a table on fire…'

'So that's what you meant. Not Iggy.'

'Yeah. And then Jack said his knives were missing…'

Fang nodded.

'… and he looked up and saw us – well, not me, but his kid – and he ran up…' I stood up, not bothering to brush the dust off. 'Jack was in the room, but the Joker closed this door… and bolted it.' I'd been following the actions of what he'd done, closing the door to find… the bolt was gone.

'Then what?' Fang asked.

'Then the Voice woke me up,' I finished lamely. I felt upset. 'But I bet Jack got in here.'

'And gave the Joker some more injuries? Sounds like something he'd do.'

'And I bet he took off the bolt.'

'But couldn't the Joker just get it, or another one, and screw it back on?' Fang asked, walking up to me and rubbing my shoulders.

'He was really afraid of his father, Fang. _Really _afraid.' I ran my fingers over where the lock had been. 'And I really can't blame him.'

--

After that depressing trip, Fang and I walked back to the park.

'So,' he said after a while.

'What?'

'Why do you think you're getting all these weird dreams?'

'I dunno. I mean, in the first one, with Jack, I was kind of… not there.'

'Yeah, but you weren't there in the other one.'

'I know, but in the other one I could actually… look down and see myself, actually there, but in that one… it was like the only thing there was my mind – not even my mind – just… watching.' I sighed. 'I dunno, Fang, it's all too confusing. I dunno _why _I'm getting all these. I think it's just coz I'm the most crazy out of all of you guys and it's a law that all the weird stuff happens to _me_.'

Fang smiled and put his arm around my shoulder, creating my protection. 'Must be.'

**--**

**I'm pretty sure that this chapter completely SUCKS, so I don't blame you if you don't like it. :( **

**FANG + UNICORNS 4-EVER!!!!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own any characters. Damn it!!! (wailing). **

**Chapter Thirteen**

As usual, a couple of hours later when it was dark, I was the one who told the flock we actually had to go home. After enduring mucho complaining, I asked if they were hungry.

That got 'em home.

I opened the door, avoided being flattened by the flock as they ran in and watched as Iggy opened the fridge and began piling stuff on the counter, stuff that he could cook.

'Oh, my God,' Nudge said, 'cook faster, Iggy! Please!'

Tony walked in, stared at the flock taking over his fridge, then looked over at me.

'Hungry,' I said.

'Right. Did you have a fun time down at the park?'

Totally! You know, I was irritated at the park because I was thinking about my psychopathic dream, depressed when me and Fang found the Joker's old house and the only reason I managed to get out of it was the flock's hunger. 'Yeah,' I said, nodding. 'It was fun.'

'Where's your jumper?' Tony asked.

I looked down at my waist and saw my jumper wasn't there. 'Oh. I guess I must've… lost it,' I said warily.

'You lost it?' He didn't sound mad.

'Only cause… I just didn't feel very cold so I wrapped it around my waist… but it's probably…'

'Back at the park?' Tony finished.

I was gonna say, Back at the Joker's house, but that works too!

'Yeah,' I said, flushing as I wondered if I'd put my name on any of the labels of my clothing. There was a chance Gazzy did, when he was running around a few weeks ago with that Sharpie. 'The park.'

'Okay,' Tony shrugged.

'Seriously?'

'What?'

'Well, I dunno, I thought you'd be… mad? Or something…'

'Hm. Did you like that jumper?'

'I don't have relationships with my clothes, Tony,' I said, staring at him. He grinned, walked over to help the flock with their hunger issues and said, 'Whaaatever.'

'Tony,' said the Gasman, sitting up on the counter, 'why didn't you come to the park? Fang, Iggy and me and Nudge had this _massive _snowball fight, I mean, look at Iggy's hair –'

Iggy had snow all through his reddish blond hair and he smiled and waved at Tony, then pointed to his hair, nodding.

Tony raised his eyebrows at Iggy, then looked over at Gazzy. 'Sorry, Gazzy, I had a meeting.'

Gazzy frowned. 'Okay.'

'Hey,' said Tony, putting his hands in his pockets. 'Do you guys wanna go out for dinner or just destroy the fridge.'

'FRIDGE,' Iggy yelled and Fang pulled him away, while Nudge stacked everything back into the fridge as fast as she could.

'Like, a pizza place? Or Thai food? Or McDonalds?'

'Ew…' said Total. 'Not McDonalds.'

'Thai sounds good,' said Angel and Tony shrugged.

That's when everyone noticed I was sitting down on the couch.

'Max, you coming?' Fang asked.

'Sorry, guys, I'm _seriously _tired,' I lied. I really didn't want to go out. But I did my best to look "seriously tired".

'What?' Gazzy asked, running up to the couch. 'Aw, come on, Max!'

'All right, Gaz,' I said, standing up wearily. 'I'll –'

'Max can stay here,' Nudge said. 'If you're that tired…'

I felt a pang of guilt as I saw that she looked pretty concerned.

'No, I can come,' I said and slumped over.

Fang walked up and grabbed my arm. 'Max, you've had a rough day,' he said. He knew I was faking tiredness, but he was willing to let me stay. 'You should sleep.'

Then the flock were telling me I should stay here. Tony looked like he knew I was faking, but he wasn't going to stop me.

I gave them all a sleepy smile. 'Seriously?'

'Yeah,' the flock said and I felt so guilty I nearly yelled, 'I'm not telling the truth, I'll coming!'

'Thanks, guys,' I said, closing my eyes a little more and I walked to my room, taking off my scarf.

'Bye, Max,' Angel said, holding Total as she walked downstairs with the rest of the flock to the garage. Tony arched one eyebrow at me.

'What?' I asked innocently.

Tony just shook his head and said, 'You're not gonna go flying, are you?'

'No,' I said truthfully. Then again… flying would clear my mind. Too late now.

I smiled at Tony. 'Fang's right. I did have a pretty rough day.'

Tony rolled his eyes. 'Whatever you say,' he said in a bored voice and he walked down the stairs, saying something to Jarvis.

I leaned against my bedroom door, arms crossed and frowning.

Perfect.

--

An hour later, I was sitting on my bed, staring at the night. I really wanted to get out. Well, I could… I mean, I could just open my window.

I walked over and tried to open my window. It was locked. I looked down and was about to unlock it when I realised – hey. My window doesn't have a lock.

'Jarvis?' I asked. This would be the first time I'd ever talked to him.

'Yes, Maximum?'

'Just Max. Um, can you open my window?'

'Sorry, Max. Tony told me not to open them unless it is an emergency.'

Damn it! So that's what Tony said to Jarvis on the way out! I was going to kill him later…

'So, if I told you there was a fire in the house…' I said slowly.

'It has smoke detectors, Max.'

'Yeah, well… what if a serial killer is in here with me?'

'I have cameras, I can see things.'

I nodded. 'So I have no way of faking my way out?'

'Sorry, but you do not.'

'Damn.' I fell back on my bed. Well this sucked. Flying usually helped with everything. Plus, it was – what did that William Wallace guy say – _FREEEEDOM!!! _

I heard the door open and sat up. Wouldn't they come back through the garage? Unless Tony was taking the car and the flock was back.

It sounded likely, so I walked into the living room.

And froze.

The Joker was closing the door, putting a knife back in his pocket. He looked over at me and I took a major step back, closing and locking my door.

I ran to the window and said, sounding a little hysteric, 'Okay, Jarvis? Use your cameras now – there is a crazy guy in this house, probably wanting to kill me –' I heard something outside my door and speeded up the talking. 'Jarvis, please, _help_ and open the windows!'

Jarvis simply said, 'I can not do that, unless of emergency.'

A guy trying to kill me wasn't an emergency? Okay, that stumped me for a second. 'But… he's right outside –'

'Max, I am sorry, but –'

That's when my door opened.

I did the first thing I could think of: crashed my fist through the glass, as fast as I could. It hurt like hell, but it was my only way out. Being the speedy bird kid I am, I could be out of here in less then two seconds.

Only one thing stopped me. I put my hand on the windowsill and pain stabbed through it – pain I didn't expect. I let go, glanced at my bleeding hand and realised I'd used up my time as the Joker grabbed both my shoulders and pulled me backwards, onto the floor.

I was about ready to get back up on my feet and do anything I could to actually hurt him, when I realised he was right over me, pinning me to the floor by pushing my elbows down.

'Get off of me, you creep!' I snarled, turning my head and trying to break free.

The Joker didn't answer, he was more saying things like 'Stay _still_.'

'Let _go_,' I replied angrily.

One of his hands released my elbow and for a split second I thought he was listening to me – then I realised he was trying to force me to look at him.

Wondering why Jarvis didn't think this was a _freaking big_ emergency, I cracked my fist against the side of his head.

He rolled off, but he was laughing.

I was on my feet in a second. I bolted out of my room, down the garage stairs and looked for some place to hide. The only place I could think of was beneath a car.

I rolled my eyes and ran to the car furthest away from the stairs, sliding under it.

I tried to control my breathing, make it quieter when I heard footsteps walking down the metal stairs.

'Max? Maaax?'

I held my breath but realised that, from the way I was breathing before, when I stopped holding my breath I'd be gasping quite loudly. Then again, my breathing sounded too loud to begin with. Oh, my God, oh, my God –

'I know you're down here,' the Joker said, stopping right in front of the car I was under. The sound of my breathing filled my ears. It was too loud, he'd find me…

A part of me felt horribly ashamed at the fact I was so scared. But I really didn't want him to…

I realised that, while I'd been having that crazy, out of this world moment, the Joker had moved. I could see his shoes anymore. Maybe he was gone. Maybe he thought I'd run somewhere else.

I soon gave up that theory when I realised I was too close the right bottom side of the car – meaning I was fully fine on the left, but that anyone could see me if they were –

Someone grabbed my arm and somehow pulled me out from under the car. I stood up, adrenaline pumping through my veins when the Joker pressed me up against the side of the car.

'Just leave me alone!' I said, not caring that I sounded slightly hysterical. I couldn't move and the unused adrenaline was making me really twitchy.

The Joker looked like he was thinking for a second then said, 'Do you know what my mother said to me today?'

Oh, my God. I was feeling too freaked out to even think of something sarcastic.

'She said that, last night, she saw Tony Stark's daughter fly onto a roof she was on and that, within seconds, Daddy found her.'

I was drumming my fingers loudly against the car. I needed to run, or fly: something that would involve moving.

'How is she?' I said casually. Maybe a little too quickly, come to think of it. 'Has she got scars too?'

I felt a strong blow to my stomach, which winded me pretty badly. Gasping for breath, I heard him snarl, 'She's got a diamond engraved on her arm.'

This couldn't be true. 'No one,' I managed, 'is that sick.'

The Joker rolled his eyes and said, 'You just keep telling yourself that.'

'Look,' I said, 'I was just flying, okay? With my eyes closed. I opened them and _whoa_ – there's a building in front of me – landing, ow! Okay, you're mom was there and we talked, but within the next five seconds, your dad was there too. Listen: I offered to help her get away and she pushed me off the roof.'

I suddenly realised exactly how close his face was but I didn't do anything. I was twitching worse that ever; I felt like I was gonna explode.

'Why do you even care, anyway?' I asked. 'I mean… you don't care about _anyone_, right?'

'She found me and wouldn't shut up about it. I decided I'd do something to relieve me of the frustration.'

'Wow, I bet there's a Best Son award coming to you.'

'That's harsh. True, but harsh.'

I smiled for a second then forced my face into a scowl. _Do not smile_, I told myself. The Joker just kept on staring at me, blankly. I saw him swallow.

_You feel sorry for him_, the Voice said and I gritted my teeth.

_Voice, shut up_, I thought. _I feel sorry for the kid who went through all that… _I thought of the grey house.

_Which is still him, Max, _said the Voice.

_No. This is the result of that, _I thought and a surge of anger towards him. Anger mixed with adrenaline. Really bad combination.

'Can you get off me?' I growled.

'No,' the Joker said, blinking. I rolled my eyes.

There was a sound of a door opened upstairs and the lights flicking on. 'Max?' the Gasman called. The Joker looked up, chewing his scars.

'Are you asleep?' Nudge called and I arched an eyebrow. Riiight.

'So long,' the Joker said, turning me around so that I hit the car. Hard.

I heard his footsteps leave as he ran up the driveway and I saw Fang at the top of the stairs. 'Max,' he said. 'What happened?'

I saw Iggy walk up next to him, along with Gazzy, Nudge, Angel and Total.

'Yeah, aren't you supposed to be sleeping?' Total grumbled.

'What happened?' Fang repeated, as he saw my face. I didn't know _what _expression was on my face.

I rubbed my elbow. 'Something amazingly weird,' I said, then ran up the stairs and into my room, falling on my bed and feeling pathetic.

**--**

**Please review. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

But, of course, within seconds, Fang was in my room. He sat down on the end of my bed. His eyes roamed over the window, the broken glass, my bleeding hand.

'The Joker was here, wasn't he?' he asked quietly.

It was then that I figured out the flock had been listening in on what me and Fang were talking about; they burst in.

'What do you mean he was here?' Gazzy yelled.

'Max won against the Joker!' Total cried in victory.

'I didn't win,' I said grudgingly and the flock stared at me. 'But I don't think I lost either…'

'What?' said Total.

'You sound like one of those crazy riddle things,' Nudge said, shaking her head.

Fang was serious. 'Max, please – What. Happened?'

I shook my head. 'I don't want to talk about it,' I said and I heard a car pull into the driveway downstairs.

'Looks like you're gonna have to if Tony see's this,' said Iggy. 'Which, y'know, being Tony, he will.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Okay, maybe –'

'That usually means yes,' the Gasman pointed out.

I sighed and shook my head. This was stupid, the flock seeing me like this. This wasn't supposed to happen.

'All right, guys,' I said, sitting up straight. 'I'll tell you about it.'

At that moment, Tony walked into my room. 'Okay, I saw blood on the floor down there, and on one of the cars, so I'm not gonna take that as a good sign.'

_Damn right!_

He was trying to be sarcastic but he looked pretty dang worried. Especially when he saw the whole broken window thing.

'The Joker was here,' Nudge informed him. Tony's eyebrow's raised and he looked at me. I nodded and said, 'He picked the lock on my door but Jarvis wouldn't let me out. He didn't think it was an emergency.'

Tony shook his head. 'Jarvis?' he asked loudly and the A.I. replied, 'Yes, sir?'

'How was that not an emergency?'

'I thought she was lying at first, sir.'

'Which is something I'd do,' I said fairly.

'And then I actually _saw him_, in here and I unlocked everything, but Max had already broken the window.'

'Wait,' I said, 'everything was _unlocked_?'

'Yes, madam,' Jarvis said.

'I thought I was freaking trapped in the house!' I snapped, standing up.

'Forgive me, madam, but it didn't seem like it was a good time to tell you.'

I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms and scowled. 'When did seem like a good time? When I was hiding under a car, hyperventilating?'

'Well, that must be how he escaped, though,' Angel said slowly, 'I mean, he couldn't get out if everything was locked.'

'I opened the garage door when Max was down there,' Jarvis said.

'Yeah, I noticed it was open,' Tony said.

I sat down on my bed again and Fang rubbed my shoulders. I pushed away. 'Don't,' I told him.

Fang looked surprised for a second but did as I said.

'So,' said Iggy slowly. 'Um… can we have the whole story?'

--

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was on the couch, except for Nudge and Total who were sitting on the floor _in front _of the couch, listening to the end of my story.

'And then Gazzy said my name, Nudge asked if I was asleep and the Joker just… left,' I finished. 'And that's where you guys found me.'

'Okay,' said Iggy, 'we probably should have turned the lights off to get the spooky effect, but okay!'

'I'm rolling my eyes, Iggy,' I told him. The corners of Fang's mouth twitched.

'Wow,' said Nudge, eyes wide. 'Sounds like a whole bunch of not-fun.'

I nodded. 'Yep.'

The Gasman's hands clenched into fists. '_Why _did he have to come here?' he asked.

'Cause he likes Max,' Angel said matter-of-factly.

We all stared at her. 'How much?' Fang asked.

'Like, _really_, likes her,' Angel said, thinking. 'I've heard his thoughts a couple of times… he likes making you annoyed,' she told me.

I rolled my eyes. 'He's doing a good job.'

'I reckon you'd be a cute couple,' Angel said suddenly.

On any other occasion, and if I'd been the one watching it, I would've found everyone's reaction hilarious.

Iggy and I stared at Angel in horror, Tony and Fang said, 'Whoa!' Total started laughing quite hard, Gazzy fell off the couch, and Nudge started choking on her glass of water. I jumped off the couch and thumped her back.

'What are you talking about?' Iggy roared. Angel shrugged. 'I just reckon they would.'

'Angel,' Fang said, 'that is the most disgusting thing I've heard anyone say all year.'

'I just said –'

'Look, honey, we know what you said,' I said rather calmly as Nudge stopped choking. Inside I was exploding. 'It just shocked us, that's all.' Why does Angel always have these creepy things to say? I mean, I love her so much, but no way in _hell _am I gonna let that slide.

Okay, with her I will, but _no one else_.

--

I lay in my bed, a few hours after Angel had opened her mind to us. I drummed my fingers on my bed and turned over, staring at the shadowy wall. I was slowly getting over what had happened, I just needed to be alone.

I closed my eyes and exhaled. Well, all my senses of security had been completely blown tonight. I started thinking about "Fang's Unicorn" just to make me feel better, just to make me snicker.

The door opened and I tensed. I pretended I was asleep, but it's hard to do that when you're… tense.

'Hello, beautiful…'

My eyes snapped open and rage washed over me. I was out of bed in a second, to see…

The Gasman, standing by the door, smiling.

'Gazzy,' I groaned as he cackled. 'Sorry, Max,' he said, still in the Joker's voice. I glared at him and he held his hands up. 'I couldn't help it,' he said, trying not to laugh. 'I wanted to see if you were awake and test out this new voice.'

I shook my head. 'Could've you have done it on Fang?'

'No, way, he'd attack me before he even realised it was _me_.'

'Touché. What about Nudge?'

Gazzy nodded. 'I guess.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Well, thank you for bringing my traumatic experience that ruined my childhood back.'

Gazzy grinned and said, 'I was gonna ask you. Can I go out and fly?'

'Sure, but bring someone with – screw it, we'll all go.'

In fifteen minutes, the flock was in my room. I opened my window and jumped out, opening my wings. I fell a good eight feet until my feathers gathered air. Then I flapped up, up, up…

--

It was half past three when we came back in. Tony was asleep, so we didn't have anyone to tell us off.

Most of the flock just crashed as soon as they were in my room. Angel gave me an amazingly sleepy smile before dropping off, which I returned with a very awake smile.

After five minutes, I listened to the peaceful breathing off the flock, and Total's muttering in his sleep. I turned over and stared at my wall when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked behind me.

'Max,' Fang whispered. 'We need to talk.'

I nodded, confused and followed him into the living room. We sat down on the couch.

'So,' he said quietly, 'was there anything else that happened?'

'No,' I said in a bored voice, already knowing where this was going. 'Fang, nothing happened, no sir-ee, there was no kissing of any kind.'

Fang rolled his eyes. 'I didn't want to know about _that_.'

'Then what _did _you want to know about? Fang, honestly, this is just – just so _stupid_. You think I'm gonna throw myself at every guy that comes here? I bet you think Iggy's next, don't you?'

'I do not –' Fang started in a low tone but I cut across him.

'Fang, there will never be _me and the Joker_, okay? You need to understand that and start trusting me.'

I hated how much this sounded like something from a soap opera.

'Okay,' said Fang, nodding at me. 'Okay.'

'Good,' I muttered, standing up and walking back to my room. I left the door open and fell on my bed, waiting, but Fang didn't come back until after I was asleep.

--

Over the next couple of amazingly snowy days, Fang managed to get it into his head that I was not going to kiss every boy who walked past me in the streets. I didn't know how something like that even got _into _his head, but I sure as heck wasn't gonna ask.

'Max, look!' Nudge squealed, pointing in a pet shop window. 'Look at that puppy!'

'We have a talking dog,' I reminded her.

'Oh, I _know_, but look! Isn't he so cute?'

I agreed he was in fact cute and looked around at the flock. Angel was holding onto my hand, Fang was talking to Iggy about something that was making him smirk, Gazzy was looking innocent (I decided to keep an eye on him).

'Hey, Fang,' I whispered, running up. 'Can you keep an eye on Gazzy?'

'Sure thing,' he said, smirking. I didn't know what that was about.

What I _did _know was that I felt horribly like someone was watching me. I did a 360, letting go of Angel's hand for a second.

'Max?' Angel asked, confused.

'Sorry, sweetie,' I said. 'I just feel like someone's watching us.'

'I do, too,' she said, nodding. I nodded back.

My eyes scanned over the entire place. I didn't see anyone looking at us, because of course that would be too easy. But it did stop when Nudge said, 'Max, can we go to the café?'

I looked over at this 'café', waiting for a secret military base to fly out the top. After ten seconds and still no base, I decided it looked harmless enough.

Only as soon as we got in there, I felt like I was being watched again.

We sat down at a table and Nudge picked up a menu. 'Oooh, I want the iced chocolate! No, the hot chocolate, it's too cold for ice chocolate. Actually, no, I've have a mocha –'

'Can I have coffee?' Angel asked.

'I don't think so, sorry, baby,' I said.

'Can I get a milkshake?' Iggy asked.

I nodded then said, 'Yeah. Angel, do you want a milkshake?'

Angel shrugged. 'I guess so.'

'What flavour?'

'Vanilla,' Iggy said.

'Not you,' I told him. 'Angel?'

'I'll get strawberry.'

'I want iced chocolate,' Gazzy said.

'Can I get coffee?' Total asked. I nodded hastily.

'I'll take a coffee as well,' Fang said quietly.

'Can I get a hot chocolate with marshmallows?' Nudge asked just as a waiter appeared at our table.

'Hi – what would you like?' he asked, smiling at us. Nudge blushed.

'Um, can I have a hot chocolate? With marshmallows?'

The waiter nodded and looked over at Gazzy.

'I'll take an iced chocolate, thanks,' he said.

After the rest of us had said our orders (well, _I _ordered a coffee for Total), I felt panicky. The watched feeling wasn't going away.

I stared behind me. There was a couple, three girls sitting at a table chatting loudly, an old man with the paper and a guy in the corner. Something about him looked slightly familiar, so I watched him for a while. He was pale, like Iggy. He was looking down at something on the table, so his stringy hair was covering his face.

I was out of here.

I stood up quickly and saw that the guy in the corner stood up too. I got ready to attack when I saw the guy's face.

He had wide, blue eyes. No scars. He picked up a book and left the café.

'Max?' asked Nudge.

I sat down, feeling a little bit embarrassed. I hated my paranoia.

--

**Please review. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Be warned, there is tiny bit of - **

**I don't know what to call it here. Jax. Moker. Whatever. You decide.**

**Chapter Fifteen**

After leaving that embarrassing moment at the café behind, Fang said, 'Max, I need to tell you something.'

'Yeah?' I asked.

'You have hot chocolate on your shirt.'

'I don't,' I said firmly, resisting the urge to look.

'Sure,' said Fang, smirking and he walked over to Iggy. While he wasn't looking, I looked down at my shirt. Fang lied.

--

Not that I actually cared. I mean, he's lied to me a couple of times before… it's not like I'm going to lock myself in a room and start crying.

But for some odd reason, I felt I needed to get away from the flock. It was so stupid, I know, but I just needed to snap out my wings and fly off.

Which, y'know, being me, I did.

That night, at twelve thirty, when the flock and Tony were asleep, I was out of there.

Flying never gets old. Just wanna let you know that.

Landing, on the other hand, really sucks to heck.

I landed on a beach, one someone could reach, not the cliffy areas near Tony's house. The ocean was completely black, just like the sky. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

'So… beaches.'

I whipped around, angry _again. _Of course, it was the Joker, standing only a few metres away. Being in the purple suit and all, it really didn't look like he was just here for the whole 'beach' thing.

'God knows I can't have a few days without running into you,' I said, rolling my eyes. I stared at him for a while. 'How do you always know where I am?'

'The same way you always know I'm gonna show up,' he said, sitting down. I crossed my arms and scowled at him. He smirked and looked out at the crashing waves, ignoring me.

'You were trying to kill me a couple of nights ago. Why the sudden change?'

'Kill you?' He grinned, ignoring my question. 'I don't wanna kill you.'

'Yeah, right. You just broke into my house to see how I was doing.'

The Joker rolled his eyes, chewing his scars. He didn't look like he was going to jump up and try to kill me, but I was prepared for any emotional changes.

After a minute, he didn't seem to even think I existed. He was sitting there, staring out at the ocean, licking his lips every couple of seconds. I slowly moved up the sandy hill, glancing at it every couple of seconds. There was grass, trees and benches. I was so there. I just had to get away from the Joker.

I made a run for it. Within two seconds, I was sitting on the park bench, not even panting. I looked down at where the Joker was sitting. It was weird, how he was… there.

I followed his gaze. It was just endless black (ooh, Fang would like that). It was kind of sucking me in…

_Max, _the Voice said and I prepared myself for something that would definitely irritate _the hell _out of me. _Max, you feel sorry for him._

Oh, God. This again.

_Voice, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but… YOU ARE NOT MY THERAPIST!!! _

To get me back for that comment, the Voice decided to show me a couple of clips from the dream I'd had few nights ago, the one about the Joker being fifteen. It made me get angry all over again.

I blinked, shook my head and realised someone was next to me on the bench. For the time the Voice and I had been 'chatting', the Joker had just moved on up here.

I could still get away really easily. I could just take off, right now, if he tried anything.

I looked over at him, to see he _still _wasn't looking at me. I really just wanted to wave my hand in front of his face and say, 'Hellooo? Earth to the Joker,' but I had a feeling that would be impolite.

Why the hell I was even thinking about being polite, I have no idea. I'm Maximum Ride, uncooperative, rude, sarcastic mutant bird kid.

The Joker wasn't wearing his coat: just a blue dress shirt with… hexagons on it and a green waistcoat. He arched an eyebrow at me and I realised I'd been staring at him.

'It's rude to stare,' he said.

'I'm not staring at you.'

'Okay, you're just staring at the invisible bunny rabbit in front of me. Got ya.'

'No…' I said, rolling my eyes.

'So, if there _is _a rabbit in front of me, you've been staring at _him _for five minutes.'

Five minutes? The 'conversation' with the Voice didn't seem that long.

'If you've been counting for how long I've been staring, then that means _you _were looking at me before. And for a lot longer, then.'

'Yeah, okay, the point of this whole conversation: staring, rude, etc. I _wasn't staring_.'

I smiled, looking out at the ocean again. I practically forgot (yep, that's right, _forgot_) that this guy sitting next to me was a killer. Way to go, Max.

The Joker chewed on his scars again. 'So… you're with that Fang guy now, huh?'

Okay, one thing I _did not _need to discuss with the Joker. I gave him what I hoped was an offended look.

'One thing I'm _not_ –'

'It was a simple question.'

'A simple, _personal _question.'

'God, why are you so uptight?'

It might have something to do with growing up in a cage, pal.

Instead of saying that, I growled, 'Okay, then: how old were you when you got those scars?'

The effect was instant: the Joker stopped smiling. Instead, he just gnawed his scars viciously.

'Thought so,' I said. The Joker looked out at the ocean, still pissed off. 'Well?' I asked. 'Are you gonna say something or just sit there?'

That was sooo badly the wrong thing to say. The Joker took out a switchblade. I tensed, ready to punch him in the face and take off when he just stared at it. That was all he did.

Thoughtfully, he put the blade inside his mouth. He made a move as if he was going to reopen his scars. I jumped and said, 'Don't!'

The Joker took it out of his mouth, smirking. 'Why not?'

My stomach jolted.

'Um.'

'You actually caaare?'

'Of course not! I'm just… queasy when it comes to blood and guts. And,' I added, 'this is a new shirt.'

The Joker rolled his eyes, licking his lips. 'Suuure. Whatever you say.'

Why was he doing this?! Why did he make me feel so stupid?! I wiped my palms on my jeans, swallowing. Something was wrong with me. I felt sick in my stomach. I felt like I was going to throw up. Something was… trying to burst out of my mouth, something that didn't have a sound…

The Joker turned back to me, probably to say something. He never said it, because I did the stupidest, unMaxish thing ever.

_I_ leaned in and kissed _him_.

**Cliffy. Doesn't sound at all like Max. Hm.**

**YES!!! TODAY OBAMA MOVED INTO THE WHITE HOUSE!!!**

**Please review**


	16. Chapter 16

**All right, last chapter? Waaay too crazy. Totally do not blame you if you think I'm a deranged psychopath. **

**I think we're calling it Jax. **

**Chapter Sixteen**

For a second, it appeared the Joker had frozen. In all honesty, I wouldn't blame him if he stood up and bolted, yelling something along the lines of, 'Help, a bird girl is kissing me for some strange reason that she doesn't know!'

Okay, maybe not that.

But then he angled his head and kissed back, one hand on the back of my neck. My mind went blank for another second then back to… y'know.

It was right at this moment I realised what I was doing. I also realised he'd somehow managed to open my mouth with _his _mouth – oh, God, this is so weird!

I didn't want to stop, but I really _did_. (If that makes sense to anyone, a prize is on it's way to your house right now.) I felt so stupid and angry at myself: _why was I doing this? _

I pulled away, cheeks burning. 'What are we doing?' I muttered lamely.

The Joker blinked. 'I was pretty sure we were kissing. Can we get back to it?'

'This is wrong,' I said.

'You probably should have thought of that_ before_, hm?'

I jumped up and ran down the hill, breathing hard and snapping out my wings. My feathers filled with air and I took off, out over the ocean.

Major points here:

I felt like I'd betrayed Fang. Namely because _I _started it.

I felt sooo stupid, and embarrassed, and just… _mad_. Mad as in crazy _and _angry.

And here's the worst thing people: I have a few things I like to rate as the best things of my life: flying, being with Fang, being with the flock, cheerios… And here's the thing. The Joker topped Fang.

--

'So,' said Iggy, 'did everyone sleep okay?'

It was around eight. Iggy had made a super breakfast and Tony had plans with Rhodey. What, you don't think he spends all his free time with us, do you?

'I slept great,' said Nudge brightly. 'I had a dream about Max was making waffles for everybody and Fang bought doughnuts and –'

'Stop it,' the Gasman said, waiting for his toast to pop up, 'you're making me _really _hungry.'

'Hungry enough to eat something Max made?' Iggy asked.

Okay, so I'm a terrible cook. We get that. Now shut up.

'Max, you look tired,' said Angel.

Gazzy's toast popped up.

'Sure does,' Iggy said and I rolled my eyes at him.

'Funny,' said Total.

I hadn't slept at all last night. I'd come back, hidden under my quilt cover and started crying quietly.

'Yeah,' I said, slowly, 'I had a bad dream.'

'Like… memory dream?' Fang asked, taking a bite of scrambled eggs.

'No… just bad.' I avoided his eyes.

_Max, tell him, _said the Voice.

Not now. Any time but now. I was going to seriously explode if the Voice touched a nerve.

But it didn't continue, thankfully.

'Juice?' Iggy offered Angel.

'Thank _you_,' she said, taking the carton of orange juice. Total gave a yip next to Fang and I chucked him a sausage.

'Max?' asked Nudge as I ate my toast. 'Did you try putting on lipstick?'

'Why?' I asked, surprised.

'You've got some right there,' Nudge said, indicating her lower lip on her face.

I could either tell 'em the truth, or lie like hell. I chose the second one, cause I'm weird.

'Yeah,' I said, looking as embarrassed as I could. Iggy burst into laughter and Fang smiled. 'You shouldn't bother,' he told me. 'You look fine either way.'

I smiled, taking in the wave of guilt washing over me.

Well, as far as hell goes, I'm pretty sure this was it.

--

Seeing as how it would be Christmas in only a week and a half, Nudge actually _ushered_ everyone out of the house, forcing us to buy presents. Knowing I wouldn't think of anything to get anyone, I just thought of it as a good reason to get out of the house.

It also turned out to be about three degrees outside, meaning as soon as we walked _out _of the house, everyone ran back in, screaming.

After mucho clothing had been applied, we went back out again. And stayed out until we found Gotham's huge mall.

Iggy and Gazzy took off to find presents, as did with Nudge, Angel and Total. So then it was just me and Fang.

Just me and Fang.

'So…' said Fang. 'Are you okay?'

'Totally,' I said.

'Right. You look like you're about to hurl.'

'Really? Huh.'

Fang rolled his eyes. 'Max, look I –'

Then he stopped. He was looking away from me, over to the left. I frowned and followed his gaze. He was staring at two girls, one of them short and Gothic, the other lanky and redheaded.

I blinked. The thing was, I couldn't tell which one he was looking at. They appeared to be friends, and both seemed like they could catch Fang's eye.

Catch Fang's eye? Hold on, I'm right next to him.

I waved my hand in front of his face. 'Fang.'

He snapped out of it. 'Yo?'

I arched an eyebrow. 'Is it the Goth or the redhead?'

He looked embarrassed, which is weird, Fang doesn't look embarrassed. All he said was, 'I have to go to the bathroom,' and ran off.

I just stood there. I mean, it's true, I did the unthinkable: I kissed _the Joker_. But it still kinda stung that Fang was staring at these girls, with this stupid look of happiness on his face that I'd never even seen.

Which only meant Fang would be crushed if he ever found out about the Joker.

I sighed and looked around. This place was too crowded… an Eraser could get in here easily.

Damn it, why the entire flock split up?! I mean, I'm sure they'd put up a fight, but there was a large chance that a lot of Erasers could beat one or two scrawny bird kids.

I sat down at a café, waiting for Fang.

After ten minutes, I was twitchy. _Where was Fang_? I though frantically, looking around. I knew it. Erasers. Damn the School!

I stood up quickly and began pushing through the crowd, trying not to scream. I walked past a crowd of little kids and –

A clown. I looked over at him, my paranoia on big time. But he wasn't the Joker, as I should have known. He had some crazy, colourful wig that gave new meaning to the word dumb, a large, _happy looking _smile painted on his face, with no dark circles around his eyes, and he looked to be in his forties.

Hm.

I did a 360. Aha! I could see Fang.

My heart sank. He was sitting in-between the Goth and the redhead, smiling, laughing, having a good time.

I began shaking. He never looked that happy around me. I closed my eyes and inhaled, but I couldn't shake the feeling away. I clenched my fists by my side as anger washed over me.

_At least _I didn't kiss the Joker while Fang was on the beach! I was almost tempted to tell him what had happened. And that I'd liked it too!

Which, scarily enough, wasn't a complete lie.

--

The Joker shivered but didn't bother to do anything about it. It wasn't the worst thing in the world to be cold.

He walked through the ankle deep snow, biting the inside of his cheek. There weren't very many people around… most likely they were all shopping, or whatever the hell normal people do.

The Joker shrugged to himself and dug his hands into his pockets. It had been an okay day… so far he'd only managed to make a few holes in car windshields, which included standing up on a building with a few baseballs and a lot of coffee, get Harley to leave him alone, and blow up a microwave by putting a blender in it.

He should've stayed to see the look on the guy's face. Didn't know what happened. Should probably not leave the back door unlocked…

He sat down at on a bench, chewing on his scars. His hair was wet from all the snow that had now melted in it, but he didn't notice. He thought about what had happened last night.

Okaaay, first things first: why the _hell _had Max kissed him? He could understand why she had run off, but the rest was all completely crazy for him, and that was saying something.

He shrugged again. Whaaatever. Didn't really matter.

Much.

--

I felt adrenaline seeping through my veins. I choked and swallowed, trying to keep these feelings locked down.

I was gonna freaking implode!

I turned and ran past everyone, pushing into people. I didn't care. I needed to get out of here.

After bashing into two guys with Mohawks, I made it to the exit. Crashing out of the doors, I turned again on the sidewalk and began running past more people, running away, away to –

Where?

I didn't know, I was just running. It felt better. I didn't want to go back.

Oh, crap: I left the freaking _flock _in there! I am such an idiot! Turn back, come on!

But I didn't turn back. My legs had a mind of their own (creepy). Instead, I found myself running through snow to just somewhere where I would feel good.

I think I kind of went inside my own head when I was running. I mean, I just kinda blanked out.

So when I stopped running, I saw I was in a really snowy park, with a couple of benches, probably a few people – but I couldn't see them. Who cared if they saw me?

I did the only thing I could think of: I smashed my fist into a tree. It was right after this happened I realised how much it hurt.

And to my utter surprise, I swore loudly, grabbed my bleeding knuckles and sunk to my knees. It wasn't just the punch that hurt. It was everything. It was killing me.

I swallowed and lay down in the snow, turning onto my back so I could see the sky. There were tree branches in my way but I didn't mind. If it was only a fraction of sky, I wouldn't have cared.

'I can't believe Fang.' The words left my mouth for no reason.

_Max, _said the Voice and I nearly started crying. _You have to go back. _

_I don't want to! _I whined in my head. _I need to be here. Please! _

I hated how unleaderly I sounded.

The Voice was silent. _Max, stop running from your destiny. _

'Shut up,' I said. 'I don't wanna hear it.'

That's me: the crazy girl talking to the Voice in her head. I was so freaking insane.

I realised someone was standing next to me so I felt amazingly embarrassed. I sat up, ready to apologise when I actually _saw _who it was.

The Joker was staring down at me, his eyes blank, but at the same time he looked like he was trying not to laugh. 'Having fun, uh, talking to yourself?'

'Oh, God,' I muttered, feeling a fresh wave of embarrassment wash over me. I stood up and began walking away quickly. Of course, he followed me quickly.

'Is this about last night?' he asked, grinning behind me.

'Shut up, and go away!' I called back, turning my head slightly as I trudged through the snow.

'Sure thing, Sparky,' said the Joker, still following me.

_Talk to him, _the Voice said.

_No way in hell, _I thought back. I walked faster. The Joker did the same, keeping up with me easily. It made me amazingly annoyed.

'So, yeah, who did you want to shut up?' asked the Joker.

I didn't answer him.

The Joker looked around. 'Is he with us at this moment?'

'Shut up,' I said.

He stopped, arching an eyebrow. 'I thought you were working on retorts, here.'

'Oh my God, leave me alone!' I said, throwing my hands up and walking faster. The playground came into view and I ran towards it.

'You can't stop our love!' the Joker yelled sarcastically, and I heard him snickering as he walked to the equipment.

I groaned and sat down on a swing, burying my head in my hands.

'So…'

'Go. Away.' I sounded muffled through my hands.

There was silence. I took my head out of my hands and stared at him. 'What's wrong with you?'

'Hey, _you _kissed _me_ – how does Fang feel about this?'

'Shut up!' I snapped. 'Look, he doesn't know because he'd kill both of us.'

'And you'd let him?'

'You, yes.'

'Even though I'm so charming?'

'Yeah, _especially_ because of that!'

The Joker rolled his eyes. 'Okay, okay.' He licked his lips. 'What'd he do to make you so angry, anyway?' he pressed.

I suddenly stood up, grinning. 'Oh, my God. You're jealous.'

The Joker blinked at me. 'What?'

'You're jealous,' I repeated. 'You're jealous of Fang.'

'Why the hell would I be jealous of him? The guy looks like he'll slit his wrists any minute –'

I laughed. 'No way. It's like out of one of those weird teen movies. You're the jealous best friend; Fang's the actual guy –'

The Joker rolled his eyes again, chewing on his scars. I laughed again. 'Oh, my God…' I said, putting my hands in my pocket and shaking my head.

'I'm _not _jealous.'

'Yes, you are,' I said, sitting back down. The Joker sat down on the swing next to me. I reckon it would've looked really weird if someone had walked by.

'Huh,' I said, a minute later, still grinning.

The Joker rolled his eyes. 'Is this over? Good, well, yeah, what'd he do?'

'I'm not telling you!'

'Why not?'

'Because you're… _you_!'

The Joker nodded sarcastically. 'I suppose that's true.'

'Shut up,' I said, standing up. 'Because you're a murderer.'

He stood up, too. 'Yeeeaaahhh…'

'Because you're a freak,' I snapped, going to my last retort.

It worked on my part. The Joker glanced over at me and _snap_ next thing I knew, I had a knife up against my neck.

'Why does this always seem to happen on almost every occasion we talk?' the Joker said, pressing the knife a little harder against my neck.

I was a little freaked out, but I wasn't gonna let him know that. 'Do it,' I told him.

If he was surprised, he didn't look it. Instead, he gnawed on his scars furiously and I felt an _amazingly _painful blow to my ribs, making me fall forwards onto my knees. I didn't bother to look up. I knew the Joker had left already.

--

**Craziness. I got the whole 'You can't stop our love!' from an episode of **_**House. **_**I love that show, Hugh Laurie is sooo cool!**

**Me and my friend watched a bunch of Heath Ledger movies on the 22****nd**** and 23****rd****, cause we're weird that way, and we woke everyone up again in my house by singing 'We Will Rock You' in the opening credits of **_**A Knights Tale. **_

**There's something wrong with us. **

**Please review. :) **

**-grimmylikesazrael**


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh, my God, I am sorry about taking so long. Please don't show up at my house with burning torches.**

**(gulp)**

**I hope you enjoy it. Again, apologising for taking so long. **

**Chapter Seventeen**

After five minutes, I stood up again. I was more confused than ever and I knew I'd put myself there.

Damn.

It was a split second before panic spread through my brain.

The flock.

I started to run.

It took me ten minutes to get back to the mall and, to my surprise, I actually nearly crashed through the flock when I slammed open the doors, leaping through.

Everyone fell down. I realised I'd landed on Iggy and, to my pleasure, Iggy had landed on Fang.

'Get off!' snapped Fang.

'_You _get off!' Iggy snapped at me.

'My bad,' I said, untangling myself from the flock and shopping bags.

'Max,' said Nudge accusingly (here we go). 'Where were you?'

'Just taking a walk,' I managed.

'Yeah, right,' Iggy said, brushing himself off as he stood up. Fang gave a low groan and followed suit.

I glared at him and he blinked, confused. _Why is Max angry at ME, huh?_

But I wasn't going to say anything about it. That wouldn't be Maxlike.

'So?' asked Iggy, rubbing his hands together. 'Where were you? Was it with – a _guy_?!'

Gazzy pretended to gasp.

'No,' I snapped. 'And Fang's a guy.'

'Fang's not a guy,' Iggy said brightly.

'And how would you know that?' Fang asked slyly.

I frowned and Gazzy laughed. 'Gross.'

--

So, of course, later, when we were all sitting on Tony's couch watching some game show, Nudge started badgering me about where I'd been.

No way did I want to talk about it. So I'd just have to change the subject.

'Nudge, what'd you get for Iggy?'

Nudge brightened but Iggy snapped, 'Don't tell me! I wanna see it on Christmas!'

'Ig, I hate to tell you this, but you're blind,' I said.

Iggy scowled and Fang muted the TV. The younger kids were off in their conversations but Fang just stared at me. Like I was the evil one.

Which, I realised, I was. Fang may have been talking to some girls, but what'd I done? And I'd started it.

I mentally punched myself then asked Fang, 'Radio?'

I jumped up, turned on the little radio Ig had gotten for his birthday and smiled patiently. I stopped slightly when I realised it was Kurt Cobain coming out of the speakers and it was the same song I'd heard in my dream with the Joker.

'_Come_

_As you are_

_As you were_

_Like I want you to be_

_As a friend_ –'

I changed stations.

'_Let me tell you 'bout the story _

_Of the joker and the thief in the night_ –'

I changed stations.

'_Body and soul_

_I'm a freak_

_I'm a freak_ –'

I turned of the radio, frowning. 'This thing is possessed.'

Fang smiled.

--

_Where was I?_

I looked around the room I was in. It seemed somewhat familiar but I could not remember for the life of me how I got here.

I froze when I saw a young child of maybe seven flipping through a deck of cards.

'_No way_,' I said suddenly.

_You're in another memory, Max, _the Voice said, confirming my fears.

I groaned. 'Why? Why do _I _have to be here? I don't want anything to do with the Joker!'

_You have to learn about your enemies, Max._

I rubbed my temples, trying not to scream. The kid looked up and my jaw dropped open.

He had no scars. The Joker had no scars. He looked actually a little happy as he flipped through the deck, taking out certain card and staking them in piles. I sat cross-legged on the floor, like he was, staring at him in amazement.

He was still pale but he didn't have any circles around his eyes. His hair was dark blond with some brown tinges and looked sort of fluffy and I couldn't help grinning at how he had his tongue poked slightly out of his mouth as he frowned at one card.

The card had a bullet hole through it. He shook his head, chucked it to the side and went back to the cards.

It surprised me that he looked as cute as Gazzy, only his eyes were dark. He didn't look amazingly innocent, but with a family like his, it wasn't too –

I froze. His family.

I looked over at the next room, the living room, and saw Jack and Harley, sitting at the table. Harley was watching Jack's every move with a weirdo dreamy expression on her face. Man, if Nudge thought Harley was pretty on the TV, she should've seen her here. Her hair was in a loose bun and she was wearing glasses but it suited her, made her look smart and cute in a way.

No comment on Jack. Even if he looked like the nicest guy in the world, my personal insight on him would be: he was Lucifer.

Within three minutes they were all over each other, kissing. Talk about gross. I looked away politely, over at their son-who-was-not-messed-up-yet, but he was staring at them too, with a disgusted look on his face, like the ones I'd seen Nudge and the Gasman pull so many times.

'I'd actually like to remain an only child,' he muttered to himself, raising one eyebrow.

I grinned again, unable not to. There was a split second where the Joker looked blank – then he looked a little scared.

Confused, I looked over at Jack and Harley (please, God, let there be no kissy-stuff going on) and saw they were both staring at him.

'Puddin!' Harley snapped suddenly and Jack stood up.

To my utter surprise, the Joker leapt to his feet, backing away from his advancing father, frantically shouting, 'I was only joking, I was only joking!'

I leapt up too and bounded next to him when I remembered: no one could see or hear me, meaning I was powerless and would just have to watch. I felt so _helpless _I wanted to break something.

The Joker suddenly ran right past Jack with amazing speed and opened the front door, crashing out into the snow while I ran after him, Jack unknowingly following me.

I caught up to the Joker easily, listening to him whisper, 'I was only joking,' like a mantra. I looked back and saw Jack was going to catch up. He was only five metres away…

Without warning, the Joker turned into an alleyway that I wouldn't have noticed was there. He smashed into a few bins which toppled over and kept running. He was wearing a long sleeved striped shirt, jeans and no footwear. I wasn't wearing any footwear either and I realised how amazingly _freezing _it was.

I looked back and couldn't see Jack. He wasn't following us. I swallowed hard and stopped suddenly as I heard a crash and someone yell out something much worse than 'dang it'.

On the freezing, snowy ground, the Joker was shivering miserably, crossing his arms and looking around warily, in case his dad might turn up. There were a few more bins toppled over I noticed. I stared down at him, amazed how quickly that had happened.

_Why do I need to see this_? I thought.

The Voice didn't answer.

I sat down next to the Joker, who was shivering more than ever now. I wanted to do something to help but I couldn't.

This was sooo _stupid_.

'I'm sorry,' I said suddenly. 'I really am. I wish I could do something and I wish you could hear me… and I sound like such an idiot,' I finished lamely to myself.

The Joker pressed his back against the freezing brick wall, taking deep breaths in.

'I was j-just joking,' he managed to himself. 'T-that was i-it.'

'Funny,' said someone I hadn't realised had shown up and the Joker looked up wildly at his father.

'How'd – how'd you – you were –'

'There's more than one way into an _alley_, kiddo,' Jack said, grinning horribly. He leaned down, grabbed his son's arm and hoisted him to his feet.

'Let _go_!' he snapped, trying to wrench his arm away.

'Jack!' someone was yelling. I realised it was me. 'He's your _son_, put him down!'

My eyes snapped open and I shivered. I remembered the flock weren't in my room tonight, they'd… they'd lounged in the living room. I hoped I hadn't talked in my sleep.

Wearily, I turned onto my other side, away from my wall –

And saw the Joker, sitting cross-legged on my floor, staring at me blankly.

**--**

**Hope you liked it! More crazy dreams (what is up with that?)  
Songs: 'Come As You Are' by Nirvana (party!), 'The Joker and the Thief in the Night' (I think that's the name) by Wolfmother, and 'Freak' by Silverchair (love them and I can not get over they started their band at fourteen!).**

**Please review :) and have a good day (night. Whatever.)**

**:)**


	18. Chapter 18

**There be some Jax. Mostly craziness. Hm.**

**Chapter Eighteen**

The Joker sat on Max's floor, back flat against the wall, staring at the back of her head. Getting in through the window was not an easy thing to do – but he'd managed. He wanted to talk to her or at least see her. Maybe freak her out. Fun stuff.

So he was just sitting there, waiting patiently. He thought of how the rest of those kids might be in the next room.

The Joker frowned absent-mindedly.

Max mumbled something and he caught the word 'Joker.'

'Yeah, I'm right here,' he said, getting ready for the surprise or whatever would come from her.

Nothing.

He blinked. 'Max? Are you awake?'

No answer. She was asleep.

Which meant she was _talking _in her sleep, which meant she was _dreaming _about him. He raised his eyebrows. Right.

He heard her laugh slightly. Interested, he craned his head slightly, trying to see her expression. When he actually caught a glimpse, she was frowning.

Talk about mood swings.

Max groaned quietly and the Joker stopped moving, in case she was about to wake up. Six seconds passed and nothing happened. Then she made a weird, frustrated noise.

The Joker rolled his eyes. Any minute now.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered suddenly.

'For what?' he asked quietly.

'I really am,' she added, ignoring his question. Still asleep. 'I wish I could do something and I wish you could hear me…'

'I can,' he muttered.

'And I sound like such an idiot,' she muttered. The Joker grinned.

For five seconds she was silent. Then, out of nowhere, she said loudly but sleepily, 'Jack!'

The Joker froze. He stared at her hard, unconsciously clenching his teeth and heard her say, 'He's your son, put him down!'

Max was dreaming about him and his father? He bit down furiously on his scars, wondering what she could be dreaming about.

Max gave a violent shiver and turned around sleepily. Her eyes widened an inch when she saw him. The surprise he'd been waiting for came now and he put on a blank expression.

He raised his hand, trying not to laugh. 'Hi…'

--

'Hi…' the Joker said, raising his hand.

What the hell?

'What are you doing here?' I snarled, sitting up in bed.

'I was about to ask you the same question,' the Joker replied.

I rolled my eyes. 'I live here!'

'Maybe I do, too.'

'Where, under the bed?' I muttered.

The Joker glanced around and tugged his shirt collar awkwardly. He coughed and said, 'Well, you see –'

'Shut up,' I said, doing my best not to smile. 'Seriously, why are you here?'

'I wanted to, uh… come ask you how Fang was.'

I blinked at him. 'Sure. He's fine. Go.'

The Joker rolled his eyes. 'Can't we have _one conversation _where you're not trying to get me to leave?'

'Okay,' I said, lying back down. 'I'm going to go back to sleep now, and you can leave in your own good time. And you can stay on your own side of the room. Okay?'

I wasn't really going to sleep, no way. But I turned around in my bed, facing the wall and waited.

There was no sound from the other side of the room except for breathing. I waited again then heard humming.

I rolled my eyes. 'Trying to sleep here,' I reminded him.

'I'm humming on _my_ side of the room.'

I groaned and heard him chuckle. 'Go. Away,' I said through clenched teeth.

'What're you gonna do? Get Fang?'

I turned around and sat back up. 'Fang could kick your butt from here to Disneyworld. But I could too.'

'Yep,' said the Joker, rolling his eyes. 'What's the bet that a quarter of the way there, he's done himself in?'

'Don't you _dare_ say anything about Fang, you'd probably be the one that was dead,' I snapped. As much as I wanted to tell him he was jealous, I decided now would not be a good time. 'He's _a lot _better than you.'

'At what, kissing?'

I frowned and looked up at my ceiling. Why, God? 'Do you have to bring that into every conversation?'

'Is that a trick question?'

I rolled my eyes again, standing up. 'I hate you _sooo much_.'

The Joker arched an eyebrow. 'Then why're you dreaming about me, hm?'

I blinked, trying to look confused, which I do a damn good job of. 'What?' I asked blankly.

'Anyone ever told you, you talk in you're sleep?'

I shook my head. 'I don't talk in my sleep.'

The Joker stood up now, about three feet away. 'You're sleeping, how can you tell?'

I smiled then quickly changed gears, letting one side of my mouth droop.

I thought about my dream. It wasn't as bad as the other one, I decided, but then again, he had been maybe Angel's age. That would be like a powerless Angel running from a pack of bloodthirsty Erasers. My blood boiled and my mouth changed into a snarl.

The Joker lifted his hands. 'Okay, okay, believe what you wanna. In fact, new question: why are you dreaming about me and my _father_?'

Crap.

I had no idea what to tell him. Instead, I asked, 'How'd you get in here?'

The Joker grinned. 'Answer the question, Max.'

I rubbed my temples. 'I'm _not _dreaming about you _or _you're hideously deranged father,' I said slowly. I glanced at the clock. One a.m.

'Y'know, alotta people say I'm more deranged than him,' the Joker said, taking a step towards me.

'Oh, you are,' I said, nodding, eyes wide. 'I just didn't wanna hurt your feelings.'

I waited for him to get majorly angry or something like that. But instead, he just rolled his eyes. 'Right.'

I smiled. 'So,' I said. 'Why _are _you here?'

The Joker glanced at me. 'I thought we'd gotten past that conversation…'

'No, tell me. Are you still –?'

The Joker gave me a look that meant, If you say 'jealous' I'm going to rip out all your major organs.

I just grinned. 'Thought so.'

He gritted his teeth and said, 'If you weren't some one-of-a-kind hybrid, you'd be dead already.'

'The kids in there are _also _one-of-a-kind hybrids,' I said, crossing my arms. I then felt weird. _I wasn't supposed to say that_.

The Joker looked at me solemnly. 'I can already guess what colour Emo Boy's are.'

I rolled my eyes. Back to Fang. 'Just shut up about Fang, will you? He's not the one everyone's scared to death of.'

'I know, _it's me_! Isn't that cool?'

'No, it's not.'

The Joker frowned. 'Oh.'

'You should turn yourself in, or something. I'm surprised you haven't had one meeting with my dad.'

The Joker nodded. 'Tony… right. How is he, anyway? Not dead, I hope?'

I rolled my eyes, secretly hoping he wasn't. 'Anyway, just help society and stop all this.'

'Since when have _you _cared about society?'

'Since last month when Iggy blew my alarm clock up,' I said. Lame, I know. But I needed some reason.

'What does that have to do with _anything_? I thought I was the one who could mess with people. You should consider this as a _job_.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Thanks.'

'Any time.'

'Can you leave _now_?'

'What is it with you and making me want to leave?' He took another step closer. I felt space-invaded and moved towards my door.

'Please?' I asked desperately, leaning against my door, half praying Iggy or Fang would open my door and say they'd heard me talking to someone.

The Joker arched an eyebrow. 'When have I actually listened to "please"?'

I rolled my eyes.

'Do you know how many times you've rolled your eyes in this conversation?' the Joker growled suddenly. 'About six. How are you not dizzy?'

To my surprise, I laughed. The Joker shook his head, muttered something that sounded like, 'girls', walked over and slumped against my door too. I felt like I wanted to move again but decided not to. I'd just have to wait until he was gone.

Which could be a while. It was only one o'clock and the flock usually woke up at six or seven.

I could start tapping the door loudly with my fingers, pretending to drum them, but the Joker wasn't stupid. Well, he acted it sometimes, but he sure as hell wasn't.

'But really,' the Joker growled, 'tell me, what were you dreaming about?'

I thought and a light went on in my head.. 'Fang on a unicorn.' God, I would have to stop using that one someday.

The Joker sighed. 'As much as that sounds hilarious, it's not true. _What _– _where _– _you _– _dreaming_ – _about_?'

'About you and your dad,' I said truthfully. Hey, he knew it, I knew it, that was it.

But in one scarily fast movement, the Joker had moved in front of me, pinning me against the wall, his face close to mine and our eyes meeting.

Awk-ward.

'Tell me.'

I swallowed hard. I wanted to get out of here, _now_, I wanted to fly, _now_.

_Just kick his butt, alert the flock. _

_Max, listen to him and tell him what you saw. Both times_, the Voice said and I let out a suppressed groan.

'You wouldn't like it,' I said.

'It has to do with my father, _of course I wouldn't like it_.'

_Start off, Max. It'll flow._

I wanted to tell the Voice to shut it but I couldn't say anything. 'I really don't –' I began. But I went against it. 'I just keep – getting, um, these weird dreams. About – you. And you're family.'

'My… family.'

'Yeah.'

The Joker smirked. 'Like what? Carnivals? Family-fun trips?'

'No. Like how you were fifteen and set fire to a lab table once,' I remembered. The Joker frowned. 'And your dad got mad. And you locked yourself in this weird attic thing you have in your house – like, there was a door in your closet. It was snowing. And just then I think you were… seven. Or six. And your parents were in the next room, you said something, Jack heard you and –'

'Shut _up_,' the Joker snarled and I clammed up. I really shouldn't have told him all that, but once I start talking, it takes a helluvalot to get me to shut up again.

He let go of me and slumped back against my door, not looking at me. He looked pretty cheesed off so I took a slight step away from him, praying he wouldn't go mental.

'I'm sorry,' I said.

The Joker smirked again. 'Yeah, I heard you say that before. You said you sounded like an idiot.'

'Well, did I?'

Silence. Then, 'Yeah.'

I grinned momentarily then went back into my 'I'll help' mode. 'But I _am _sorry. I mean… I had a pretty bad time back when I was a little kid.'

'Oh, God,' the Joker said, rolling his eyes. 'When did this become Therapy?'

But I could tell he was slightly interested. I kept it up. 'I grew up in a dog crate, at a place called the School. It's in Death Valley.'

'Ironic.'

I nodded. 'The rest of the flock grew up there, too. We were experiments of these mad scientists, right? It was pretty much like being in a hospital for a really long time. When Jeb got us out –'

'Jeb?'

'He was a whitecoat. He felt sorry for us, kidnapped us away from the School, to a place in the mountains. We thought he died two years later, but in fact, he joined up with the School again.'

'Ouch. What'd you think?'

I didn't look at him. 'Seriously? He was – he was like my hero.' I felt amazingly embarrassed when I said that, but I flipped my hair into my face to conceal the blushing. 'I wanted to murder him slowly when I figured it out.'

The Joker didn't say anything. I didn't talk either.

'But for you, it was people who were actually… well, your parents are supposed to protect –'

'Don't talk,' said the Joker. 'Or I _will _have to kill you.'

I nodded. 'I'm just saying. You're _normal _compared to me.'

The Joker glanced at me. 'Do me a favour, get off the "turn that frown upside down" crap. Now.'

'Okay.'

I decided to let it all sink in for him and waited for him to say something. I walked over to my bed and sat on it. He just stared at the ground, thinking.

I opened my mouth to ask him something.

'No, I'm not going to leave,' he said, as if reading my mind.

I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth again.

'No, I do not want you to get Fang.'

'That's creepy, you know?'

'One more goal for today done,' he said. I smiled and he sat down next to me on my bed.

Once again, I felt like we were way too close. I didn't like it, I felt like something bad would happen again. Like maybe I'd go crazy and try to kiss him again. Or worse, he went crazier and kiss me back.

As I was having these psycho thoughts, I heard a slight click. I didn't know what it was, but it snapped me out of my thoughts.

'What was that?' I asked warily.

'What?'

'That… clicking noise.'

The Joker didn't bother to look around. In fact, I noticed with horror, all he was doing was staring at me. 'I didn't hear anything,' he shrugged.

I waited a minute then said, 'It's rude to stare.'

The Joker smirked. 'I'm not staring at you,' he said.

'Oh, right, you're staring at the invisible man for the last two minutes.'

'If you've known for how long I've been staring, that means you were watching me first. And for alooot_ longer_.'

I grinned. 'Conversation points: staring, rude, et cetera.'

The Joker didn't roll his eyes. 'Right,' he said. 'Where'd we end up with this last time?'

Oh, God. He didn't mean that, right?

Apparently, he did, because he leaned in, angled his head and kissed me.

I felt horrified for one split second, like how the flock and Tony were in the next room, how much the flock would hate me if someone walked it, how confused everyone would be, how my own _dad_ would hate me…

But then I didn't have a mind to think with.

--

At seven thirty, I woke up, half flailing. I looked around wildly.

And I smiled.

The Joker was asleep. On my floor, right next to my bed. His hair was pushed back from his face and he was frowning in his dream. I grinned at the thought of what Nudge would think if she saw him like this. Probably something to do with the word 'cute'.

I froze. What if someone had walked in this morning, while I was asleep and the Joker was on my floor. In all honesty, we'd just kissed for a while then… talked. For about two hours.

Then I fell asleep without warning.

Crazy night.

I carefully avoided him as I stepped out of bed. I leant down and nudged him slightly. 'What are you still doing here?' I whispered. 'You should be gone.'

The Joker didn't open his eyes. He just said, 'One more hour, I swearrrr.'

I rolled my eyes. 'You're not funny, y'know that?'

'I'm hilarious, you just don't get me.'

I shook my head and said, 'Be out of here before I come back. The flock or Tony could see you.'

The Joker groggily murmured something and I stood up, walked into my bathroom and rubbed the make-up off my face. Okay, deed done. I was ready for action.

I walked past the Joker (who still wasn't up) and opened my door, walking out into the living room.

My stomach dropped. Tony and Fang were sitting on the couch, waiting for me. Nudge was on the floor, looking awkward and embarrassed like the Gasman, Iggy, Angel and Total.

Before I could even ask 'What?', Tony snapped, 'What the _hell _is wrong with you, Max?'

I didn't say anything. I thought it would be Fang who said that.

But all Fang could do was glare at me.

'I –' I began.

'I don't believe this,' Tony said, standing up. I swallowed and looked at the ground guiltily. _Don't come out of my room_, I thought hard. _Do not come out of my room_.

'I'm sorry,' I said, 'but what _exactly _am I being charged for?'

I couldn't help it. Tony stared at me in disbelief and turned on the TV, where it was paused on a black and white screen of two people, sitting on my bed, kissing.

I flared up at once. Okay, I understand that the whole kissing thing was my fault, and that it totally would've been okay if they'd walked in and seen the Joker on my floor, but somehow they'd gotten a photo.

'Since when did I have a photographer in my room?' I snarled at Tony.

'Since when did you start practicing mouth-to-mouth with clowns?' Tony snarled back.

I glared at him and I heard Jarvis say, 'My apologies, madam. An extra camera was installed in your room, after Fang –'

'What did you say?' I snarled at Fang, who stood up and walked up to me.

'I told Jarvis I was worried and to –'

'Watch me like an animal? Fang, this is _incredible_!'

'No, what _you did _is incredible.'

'How's that redhead and Goth Girl?' I snapped.

Fang flushed and said, 'At least I wasn't wagging tongues.'

Nudge suddenly spluttered, 'I don't care, Max. Neither does Angel.'

'Total doesn't,' Angel said bravely. The Scottie dog nodded.

'I don't,' Gazzy said. 'Well, I mean, it's… weird, but I guess it's… well, I still love Max.'

'Yeah,' Nudge said, nodding.

I felt like crying. I thought they'd absolutely hate me. But they didn't. And I wanted to scoop them up into one huge flock hug.

Iggy was flushed.

'Iggy?' I asked quietly. 'It's okay what you say.'

Iggy swallowed. 'You have a _really weird_ taste in guys… and he's, um, destroying the city slowly.'

'So?' asked Fang.

'I don't know,' said Iggy self-consciously. 'I guess I'm angry… but I don't hate you, Max.'

I felt like four parts of me were together – but, as much as I didn't like it, I needed Fang. And Tony.

Tony just shook his head and said, '_No_.'

I stuck out my chin. I've never listened to an adult and I was _not _going to start now. I walked back to my room, slammed open the door and walked in, opening the window, ready to fly out.

The Joker was sitting on my bed, and he looked up when I walked in.

'You need to –' I began but Fang crashed into my room, looking murderous. He glanced at the Joker and stared at him.

The Joker rolled his eyes, stood, lifted up his hands and said, 'Look – I know you're about to rip my arms off, but –'

Fang didn't bother to hear the next part. He cracked his fist against the side of the Joker's head, who fell back onto my bed. Fang grabbed his shirt collar and swung him against a wall, rather hard and I heard something crack.

'Fang!' I shouted. 'Stop it!'

Hearing the ruckus, everyone was now standing in my room, staring at this.

'_Fang_,' screeched Angel as Fang punched the Joker hard in the face. The Joker spat out blood, grinning wildly.

'You think that's _funny_?' Fang half-yelled.

'Uh… yeah,' the Joker said matter-of-factly, spitting out blood.

Fang kneed him hard in the stomach and gave him an uppercut. The Joker's head whacked upwards and Nudge was frantically saying, 'Oh, my God, oh, my God –'

'Killing is making a choice,' the Joker said, starting to laugh. Fang threw him down on the floor and the Joker cracked his neck, sitting up slowly, waiting for the next hit.

'Fang, _stop_!' I yelled, grabbing his shoulders. Fang twisted, trying to get free. 'Leave him alone!'

Fang stopped and stared at me. I wanted to avoid his eyes, but I stared straight into them. 'Max,' he said hoarsely, 'can you _hear _what you're saying? You're wanting me to stop murdering the guy who _threw you out a window_.'

'Always bring out the bad side in people,' the Joker muttered behind me and it took everything in me not to glare at him. Instead, I turned around and said, 'Go.'

He blinked then looked at me like 'How's that supposed to happen?'

But the flock were just staring at me and Fang. I saw Nudge watched the Joker as he walked out, blood pouring down his face and looking slightly uncoordinated but she looked back at me and Fang right after he walked past.

Tony didn't run after him but he watched him the entire time until he'd left the house.

Fang just stared at me coldly. 'Max,' he said, 'you told me once that you would _never _be with him.'

'And before that you were always believing I was,' I said with equal coldness. 'Guess what, Fangster? It came true.'

Fang swallowed and walked out, pushing past the flock and Tony into the living room. When the flock turned back to look at me, they didn't know I was already out the window.

**--**

**Me: HOLY SMOKES!!!**

**Tintin: holy smokes? What the hell is WRONG with you? **

**And I swear I won't use the unicorn thing again. It's getting REALLY old.**

**:) Hope you enjoyed. Please review. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks so much for the reviews! All of them! It's really nice and just… thanks! :)**

**Allright, here's the thing. There's a scene in this chapter that I sort of copied from **_**Maximum Ride: School's Out – Forever**_**. I'm sorry and I'm sure all the Max fans out there will know it and hate what I've done to it, but I just was at the beach one day with my friend (best time at a beach I ever had, got dunked by a wave whilst singing 'I Got A Jar Of Dirt') and I just saw it in my head. I couldn't get it out, even though I know Max would never do it twice.**

**So yeah, sorry.**

**Enjoy! **

**Chapter Nineteen**

I didn't want to stop flying. I was too confused over everything. Waaay too confused.

One, somehow I'd ended up kissing the guy I _thought _I'd hated, two, Fang had implanted a camera in my room with the help of Jarvis, and three, I wasn't sure what was going on with any of my relationships now.

After two hours of meaningless flying, and choking down crying, I found a few piers and a large, sandy, people covered beach. It was actually pretty sunny today. The piers appeared to be empty. I chose one that was away from most people. No one noticed me as I hit ground, swung my legs over the edge and sat there.

I folded in my wings, blinked for a moment then tears ran down my cheeks. I felt so alone. I'd messed up big time and this was my pay for it.

It was _all my fault_. I wasn't supposed to be the problem. This was just… so _stupid._

I tried to stop crying, tell myself how weak it was, but I wouldn't stop. I hated feeling so vulnerable.

After what felt like years, I wiped my eyes and stopped. The flow was over. I was hoping Nudge, Gazzy and Angel still liked me. Maybe Iggy. But Fang…

Fang. Oh, God.

I felt like crying again, but there was no more tears. I felt horrible, stupid. I'd wrenched myself apart from the people I loved.

For a murderer. Someone who enjoyed putting Gotham in fear. Chaos.

I just shook my head, gave a final sniff and made myself completely blank. Everything would be fine. It always was.

What if this wasn't like other times?

_It will be, don't worry_, the Voice said.

'Stop it,' I growled. 'I don't want to hear it.'

'Talking to the voices again?' someone asked behind me and fury washed over me.

I turned around angrily, ready to snarl at him – when my jaw dropped open.

He wasn't wearing his make-up, like he was trying to be normal or not as noticeable, but his hair was still green. Even though it was sunny, he was wearing a black trench coat that was pretty ratty at the ends.

And here's the thing that surprised me: he looked nice. For him, I mean.

The Joker sat down next to me on the pier, crossing his legs.

'What'd you do to yourself?' I asked slowly.

'Washed the blood off… rest came off too.'

'So, you're not trying to look normal?'

The Joker arched an eyebrow. 'Why would I want that? It's great being different. You think outside the box, while all the… civilised people are trapped within. No one cares and when they _do_, you don't.'

Anger rushed into me again. 'So you don't care that my family hates me?'

'Whatshername… Nudge doesn't. Or that little blond kid with the dog –'

'Angel,' I snapped.

The Joker lifted his hands, smirking. 'Easy.'

I snapped.

'Shut _up_,' I snarled, standing up. 'You were right, I _don't _get you! All you do is try to show everyone how _excellent _it is to be you, to be _insane_, but as soon as anyone mentions something about you that even _you _don't like, you're off like a rocket. I lied, big time. You're _more _of a freak than I am. At least I didn't turn into a complete nutjob because my dad needed anger management classes!'

For one split second, I _knew _he was going to go mental. But then he just sat there, smirking. 'Sure didn't _sound _like what you meant last night.'

My embarrassment mixed with the fury.

'_I hate you_!' I shrieked and jumped off the pier, falling six metres and rolling onto the ground, sand hitching a ride in my jacket. Swearing, I snapped to my feet and began running through the crowds of people. I stepped through a sandcastle and two little kids lifted up their hands like gun and started making BANG noises at me.

Oh, yep. Totally in pain. Ow, you grazed my shoulder there.

I didn't stop running. I needed to get away from all of this. All this… stupidity. It was just what the Joker wanted.

Finally, I was away from people, just on a white beach, listening to the rush of the ocean. Unlike the beaches near Tony's house, there were no boulders, cliffs or concealments.

I fell down in the sand, closing my eyes, images flowing through my head. Fang and me sitting on a boulder, talking, Tony angry, the black and white picture on the TV, Fang angry, me flying, me washing make-up off my face, the Joker asleep on my floor…

'Stop it,' I muttered. 'I'm not crazy.'

_Max_, the Voice said and I screamed in frustration.

'Don't tell me anything!' I whispered. 'Please!'

_Max, _the Voice said again. _You think you hate him… but you're so alike. Rough past. _

'Is he a schizophrenic too?' I asked, bitterly. 'Wait – don't answer that.'

_Your rage upon the School, on what they did to you – it's like him for his father. It's not his fault_.

'You don't _know _anything,' I said, even though I almost knew it was true. 'And, hey, look at me. Look at the flock. We're not nutjobs.'

_Max, have you ever thought about how maybe not everyone is as strong as you? Or that maybe his sanity was torn because it was his actual family who did it to him?_

Trust the Voice to use big, smart sounding sentences: his 'sanity was torn'. Yep.

But still, as much as I thought it was true, the more I didn't want to hear about it.

'Shut up,' I said, close to tears again. 'Just _go away_.'

The Voice was silent. _Problems just don't go away, Max. You have to learn how to deal with them._

I froze. I knew _exactly _how to deal with this.

I was sure the Voice was connected to the chip in my arm. I was a hundred percent sure that it might be.

I looked around for a sharp shell of some sort, something that would – aha!

I picked up a broken shell with a wicked curve. This would help. I looked at my arm and swallowed.

Here goes nothing. Or here goes everything. I brought the shell to my arm.

Pain flooded through me but I kept going. I had to get the chip out, get the Voice away from me. I didn't notice the blood. I was blinded by the happiness of no Voice.

The next thing I knew, I heard someone running in sand. I looked around and saw a guy with untidy hair and a trench coat fall next to me, grabbing hold of my arm _exactly where I was cutting it_ and wrenching the shell out of my grip.

I must've been slightly spaced out from the blood I was losing, or something, because I had no idea who this guy was and apparently my mind felt like it was being used by a two-year-old.

'What the hell do you think you're _doing_?!' snarled the guy.

I blinked at him. I was dead, right? He was an angel, right? His face came more into focus. He looked definitely angry, and he had really big scars on his face.

I frowned. Poor angel.

He was saying something, so I decided to listen to him.

'– even _know_ how much blood are you losing? Can you hear me?' He snapped his fingers in front of my nose.

'What happened to your face?' I asked.

He stared at me. 'What?'

'Your face,' I said, indicating around my mouth where his scars were. 'What happened to it?'

He stared at me with amazing dislike, cracked his neck and said, 'Max, come on, you're going home.'

That word brought me back to my senses.

'No,' I snapped. 'I'm _not _going home!'

I realised with a jolt that the 'angel' was the Joker. Oh, my _God_! I prayed no one would _ever _know what had been going through my mind.

The Joker chewed his scars furiously. 'Well, now that you're back to you,' he said and squeezed my wound really hard.

'Ow!' I yelled.

'You've been through a lot worse, _deal with it_. _What _were you _doing_, by the way?' he asked, sounding a lot more like himself.

'Trying to get my chip out!'

'Your… chip.'

I didn't care how crazy I sounded. 'Yeah, it's connected to the Voice in my head, and I'm _sick of it_! All it gives me is crap about how my life has turned upside down because of my "relationships."'

'Well, you're not _exactly _Fang's best girlfriend, are ya?' the Joker said truthfully.

I glared at him.

'Why are you so _worried_? You don't care at all, right?' I snapped.

He didn't answer. Just stared furiously back at me. 'You tell _anyone _about this and I _swear to God_ _I_ _will slit your throat_,' he snarled viciously.

Wow. Okay.

'Fine,' I said. 'But no _way _am I going back to Tony's house!'

--

He totally made me go back to Tony's house. Actually dragged me back there, funnily enough. The entire way there he was telling me if I told anyone what happened at the beach except for me trying to get the chip out, he would kill me, using a lot of different death threats, all of them pretty sickening.

The Joker wrenched open Tony's door (good thing it was unlocked) and the first person I saw was –

Nudge.

She glanced up from a magazine and her mouth dropped open: blood dripping down my arm, the Joker holding it, me looking slightly woozy.

'Uh, Tony?' she called, trying to be casual, but her voice broke. 'Max's back.'

Tony popped into my view, a mixture of concern and anger on his face. Then he saw the bleeding and the Joker and it just went to anger.

'What'd you do to her?!'

'Tony –' I started, but to my surprise (well, not really a surprise, I thought later), the Joker growled, 'Listen, if I wanted to kill your daughter, which now, believe me, _I do_, I'd _would not _slit her wrists like some, say, Emo. I'd probably go for… throat or chest and, well, being me, not force her back here while she's still _alive_. Also, do her a favour and get her some therapy classes.'

'What?' I snapped at him. He grabbed my shoulders and said in a would-be happy voice, 'Guess what? You're more of an Emo than Fang is now!'

I rolled my eyes at him, nearly fell over and Tony grabbed me, helping me stay on my feet. I heard the door slam shut and I knew the Joker was gone.

'Max…' Tony said, staring at my arm. Fang and the rest of the flock walked into the room.

'Did I hear the Joker?' Fang snapped.

'And do I see blood?' Total asked suddenly. Everyone snapped out of their anger and walked around me.

'What happened?' Gazzy asked.

'The chip?' Fang whispered.

I nodded. 'I don't want to talk about it,' I said.

Tony stared at me. 'A little late for that now,' he said.

I nodded again. 'I guess.' Tony swallowed and said, 'Can I borrow Max for a minute?'

The rest of the flock nodded, looking slightly confused. Tony pulled me from them, walked into my room and closed the door.

I glanced over at the spot where Jarvis had taken a picture and saw: cables and a small hole in my wall. Someone had ripped the camera out.

Oh, good.

'Max, seriously,' he said. 'What happened?'

Everything was out in about two minutes. About how I wanted the chip out, about how many times I'd actually met the Joker… honestly, I should just make a banner and hang it on City Hall, saying 'Hey, I'm Max and I Kissed The Bad Guy! Plus I have Wings! What's up with that?'

There was mucho apologising in it and I think Tony told me to 'shut it' one time but I kept going and going and going…

When it was finally over, I just sat there on the bed, feeling stupidly weak.

'I need help,' I said, finally.

Tony sat down next to me. 'Max… uh, wow.'

I blinked at him and he said, 'Sorry, just… that was a _lot _of stuff that's been bothering you.'

'Get used to it,' I said and he smiled.

'Yeah, but… I just think maybe you need to talk to Fang. I mean, you guys were – _are_ best friends.'

'He hates me!'

'So, what, gonna spend the rest of your life avoiding the room he's in?'

I stared at him solemnly.

'I know you really don't always listen to my opinion,' Tony continued. 'And I'm sorry if I get –'

'Mad really easily?'

'Okay, first, what you did _was not _"really easily" and –'

'Okay, okay,' I said, lifting my hands up. 'I'm sorry. I'll… go talk to Fang.'

Tony shrugged. 'You don't have to.'

Don't give me that option. But I just smiled and said, 'No, I will.'

I walked out of my room and into the kitchen, as all of the flock except one member was one the couch.

I sat down on a kitchen stool, Fang glancing at me.

'Fang?' I asked.

'What?' he said blankly.

'I'm sorry.'

He gave me a dark look. 'Sorry's not going to clear all this up, Max.'

'I know,' I said. 'But I'm just saying, for what its worth – which probably isn't a lot – I'm sorry.'

Fang looked straight at me and nodded. Then he smirked. 'Fangster?'

I frowned. 'I was mad.'

'I was too, if I recall.'

'I know.'

Fang nodded again.

'But… but I'm just saying… We will probably never…' I stopped, feeling awkward. I hate this stuff.

'We might,' Fang said easily, cottoning on. 'We always could get back.'

I shook my head. 'Go find that Goth Girl – no, I'm not joking,' I added as he started to protest. 'I'm not your girlfriend anymore… but I do want to be your best friend.'

Fang's dark eyes met mine. 'Okay,' he said finally. 'But Max – just _think _about who it is. Just think.'

I stared at him. Everything felt too serious. Like, more serious than usual. And I really didn't like it. I wanted it to go back to when me and Fang would just try to best each other constantly. I missed that.

But no way I could go back now. That would involve clipping a lot of people out of my life – well, two: Tony and You Know Who (not Voldemort). And, as much as I wanted to go back… it'd be empty.

I realised I hadn't spoken for a long time and Fang was watching me intently.

'Allrighty, I will,' I said, nodding. Fang gave me a tiny smile and I smiled back. I already had thought about it.

**--**

**Yeah, so pretty much… repeat of scene. Sorry. But I hope you enjoyed at least some part…? **

**Um, yeah, please review. Thank you.**


	20. Chapter 20

9

**Christmas! **

**Hee, hee, hee…**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

**Chapter Twenty **

Christmas Eve was here before you knew it. And the best thing: the Voice hadn't bothered me for a while. I mean, I was just _waiting _for it to pop in and say _Win some or learn some, Max_ or something like that. But it was nice all the same.

Nudge, Angel, the Gasman and Total were turning into miniature psychopaths (like I needed that) because of their excitement. Even Fang was a little happy. He smiled when Iggy said loudly in a shopping centre, in front of everyone, 'Max, I'm your present!' and tried to jump into my arms.

Only I was laughing so hard I was doubled over, so he landed on me, which made the flock laugh harder.

I mean, afterwards I was embarrassed all the way to heck. But there'd been no cameras, so I doubted it would be top story on the news tonight ('our top story tonight: Max Ride and Mystery "Friend"').

That was a joke. Get it?

Anyway, over the last few days I hadn't seen any sign of the Joker. There'd been a few dozen car bombs, making me grit my teeth, but no sighting. I couldn't tell if I was happy or miserable that he hadn't shown up anywhere. I mean, I definitely needed some time away from him to calm down from the last meeting AKA the Chip, but as he pretty much showed up whenever he wanted, did he need some time too?

I mean, it seemed weird, but he _had _–

I wasn't going to think about it. It was the first real Christmas the flock had ever had. Why plague it?

'Help!' Total panted, running around the house with a cracker in his mouth, one he'd taken from Gazzy, who was now chasing him. 'Help!'

Angel scooped him up in her arms, smiling big. Gazzy rolled his eyes, his overlarge Santa hat slipping down over them for a second.

Fang was sitting on the couch with me, watching Iggy putting some last minute decorations on the tree. Here's the thing: the blind guy had made an excellent tree.

'It's great, Iggy,' I said cheerfully as he stood on his tiptoes to snap the sparkly white star on top.

I felt really happy. Plus, Tony was going to be taking us out for dinner. That would be fun, I guess. But I sort of would rather spend Christmas just here, in this nice, safe room.

Tony walked into the room, just stopped Nudge from bashing into the tree and Total ran past him, yelling, 'Will someone pull this cracker with me?!'

Yep. Sure thing, Total.

I rolled my eyes and Fang grinned. It no longer brightened my world, but it made me relieved.

'So,' I said casually, 'you asked that Goth girl yet?'

Fang glanced at me. 'Max,' he said sharply, 'I thought I told you to think about –'

'I have,' I said quickly. 'In fact, never mind.'

But I could see Fang's expression (yeah, he actually had an expression): he looked bummed.

'Max, come on –'

'Fang, please – it's Christmas.'

Fang rolled his eyes and said, 'Just tell me.'

I frowned and said, 'Because you don't like me like that. And, I'm sorry, but I only like you as a friend.'

'And you like some murdering freak as a husband?'

I glared at Fang. 'Husband? I'm fifteen, Fang. You told me to think, and I did. I'm not delusional. I'm fine. Now can we just _leave it_ at that?'

Fang sighed and nodded. 'Fine,' he said, managing a smile. 'Merry Christmas, Max.'

--

The restaurant was okay. There was a lot of excitement from Nudge ('Ooh, can I get chocolate milk? I mean, strawberry would be fine, but I reckon chocolate's the best. I'm not sure actually…'), a lot of sarcasm from Iggy ('My ears a bleeding, Nudge!').

Yeah, but it _was _pretty nice.

On the way home, Tony let us stop at the park, only because it wasn't very late and because Nudge and Angel wouldn't stop pestering him (plus, I think Angel tried to change Tony's mind. I told her _not _to brainwash my dad, he could choose for himself). Gazzy wanted to watch this TV movie called _The Hogfather_, something based on a book by some guy called Terry Pratchett. I guessed the Hogfather was Santa and I liked the main girl on the ads, with the white and black hair.

It was snowing lightly and, even though I was a fan of the hot weather, I really loved it. There was just something so… _magical _about it. Kinda like when you know something amazing is about to happen, and your whole body starts tingling with excitement and you just feel at peace in a way.

Plus, all the Christmas lights that had been hung everywhere made it feel extra special.

Fang didn't walk with me. He took the other kids for a walk that he _promised _would be short. I just walked for fifteen minutes, through the snow covered trees, into the playground and sat on one of the swings, waiting.

I didn't know for what.

I let my boots drag in the snow, thinking about how Nudge might react to the massive amount of Junior Mints I got her when someone behind me said, 'Sooo… waiting for Santa?'

I whipped around, unable to tell whether I was happy or sad. The Joker had snow flakes in his hair and on his shoulders, and his hands were shoved in his coat pockets. He was back to make-up and purple.

I shook my head. 'No. Santa comes down the chimney. Duh.'

'Well, I'm sorry if my memory's _a bit _foggy,' he said, sitting on the swing next to me. 'But if you've been having any of those weird dreams lately, you'll know my family and Christmas wasn't a big thing.'

I shrugged and he chewed his scars.

'So, how've you been surviving without me?'

I rolled my eyes. 'Terrible! I want you, I _need _you, oh baby, oh baby.' I shook my head. 'Fine.'

The Joker nodded. 'Where're the rest of them?'

'Somewhere. If the universe hates me, probably right behind us.'

'Oh, yeah, cause Fang will get crazier than me?'

'Yep.'

'Wow. Didn't think it was possible, did ya?' he asked, smirking.

We just sat there for a moment, not talking.

'Why'd you stay in my room?' I asked suddenly.

The Joker stared at me blankly. 'Yes,' he answered.

'No, I mean… why didn't you leave? The night before I… Fang bashed you up?'

The Joker smirked again and started swinging. 'The night before iFang bashed you up? Right… well, I would've if you hadn't fallen asleep on me and I had to pry myself away from you.'

I blushed. 'Yeah, well… you got yourself away, why didn't you scarper?'

'Scarper?' asked the Joker in an English accent, swinging pretty high. 'What are you on about, dear fellow?'

'Shut up,' I said, hunching my shoulders. 'Or answer my question.'

The Joker stopped swinging. 'Gee, that's a hard one.'

I rolled my eyes, standing up and beginning to walk away. 'If you're not going to answer, I'll just go. Fang's probably waiting…'

The next thing I knew, someone had pushed me down into a large patch of snow next to a tree. I turned around immediately, lying on my back, hating the chill that had just snatched onto my face.

'What the hell?' I snapped, looking up at the Joker, who was now leaning above me with one hand against the tree. He just grinned and said, 'I thought it'd make you stay longer.'

'You could have _asked_.'

'This is me we're talking about.'

'Touché.'

The Joker rolled his eyes, took his hand off the tree and fell into the snow next to me. It momentarily covered him, causing me to laugh. He sat up, wiping snow and make-up off his face, assuming a slightly confused look.

It amazed me how cute he looked.

It also amazed me that I'd thought he looked _cute_. I mean, come on, as a seven-year-old, yeah, but that was like kid-cute. This guy had scars, make-up and a really bad addiction to knives.

'Oh, hey,' I said, remembering the parcel in my jumper pocket. 'I got you something.'

The Joker rolled his eyes. 'Oh, really?'

'Yeah,' I said, taking out the badly-wrapped present. I'd been hoping to give it to him the next time I saw him. 'Uh, Merry Christmas?'

The Joker gave me a look that meant, Just don't. But he took the present. He kinda just stared at it for a second, looked at me with a sort of mock-excited-kid expression and said in a happy voice, 'Aw, gee, Max, what is it?!'

I grinned quickly then said, 'Open it.'

'Well, nuh,' he said, rolling his eyes and unwrapping it. He blinked at it.

It was a wooden box. He looked over at me and I said, 'Just open that.'

'This isn't going to be a series of boxes and at the end it'll just be a matchbox with a single red-headed match, right? Because if so, you could've _at least _included some gasoline –'

'Just open it.'

He did and a few dozen joker cards spilled out. I'd taken the time to steal all of Tony's decks and take out all the jokers. Meaning I had a lot.

It'd just been stupid, not the actual present but the Joker grinned momentarily. 'Thought that counts.' He shook out some more cards and took out –

A black-headed matchstick.

The Joker looked over at me, and arched an eyebrow. I was trying not to laugh and half failing.

'So… I was right,' he said.

'Nope. You said red match.'

'Oh, come on –'

'No,' I said, 'I really got you this.'

I took out a folded switchblade. I mean, yeah, great one Max. Give the crazy guy a knife. But I'd seen it and I couldn't help it. Plus, one afternoon where it had just been me, the knife and a Sharpie, it now had a bunch of crazy little scribbles on it.

Like, it had this crazy handwriting all over it saying _HA, HA, HA _and random, scary smiley faces.

I liked it. I watched the Joker as he held it and I guess he liked it too. He tipped me off when he said, 'Wow. I like it.' He glanced over at me. 'Uh… thanks.' He said 'thanks' really quietly, almost like he didn't want me to hear.

'No problem,' I said, feeling awkward. I added jokingly, 'So, where's my present?'

The Joker looked over at me again and cracked his knuckles, one by one. 'Uh,' he said, reaching behind him, 'here.'

And then he threw a handful of snow in my face.

'Oh, my God,' I moaned, wiping it off my face. 'I_ hate_ you.'

'I know,' he said, grinning. Then he stopped grinning, looking almost blank. He leaned over me and pushed my fringe off of my face.

As usual, there was the horrifying moment where Fang could walk right in on this, or where Tony would have the entire flock in the car, drive by and be like, 'Max, hey – whoa…?'

But something new happened. My stomach sort of… well, you know when you're so excited you want to scream, but you don't and it kind of all just stays inside. I already had some of that from it being Christmas, but this was like… _crazy_.

My cheeks got really hot, and I knew I was blushing but the Joker just kind of… leaned in and kissed me.

Again. Wow, I am really going to have to do something about this. Next time.

'Max?' I heard someone yelling. I sat up – or, the Joker sort of fell off of me and was concealed in snow again and _then _I sat up.

I knew it was Fang saying my name. 'Max, hey, where are you? It's time to go.'

'_The Hogfather_!' Gazzy yelled, as if I'd forgotten.

The Joker sat up. 'He was speaking English, right?'

'It's this movie,' I explained quickly and quietly.

'Why are you whispering?' the Joker asked loudly and I rolled my eyes at him. 'Ooh,' he said, grinning and thankfully quietly. 'This is, uh, a secret relationship you don't want the Fangalator to know about?'

'He actually said it was fine,' I snapped, while secretly inside I was cracking up at _Fangalator._ 'He just told me to think about it.'

The Joker nodded. 'Right. And since he's Fang, he's actually hoping you're going to get back with him.'

I stared at him hopelessly. How could he _do _that so easily? I felt another weird rush of excitement in my stomach, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Luckily, he'd wiped off most of the greasepaint there before, so I was all good.

The Joker blinked at me. 'What's wrong with you? My own _mother _never kissed me on the cheek.'

'Oh, shut up,' I said, standing up and walking away. 'And… Merry Christmas, Joker.'

It felt weird coming out of my mouth. But yeah, that was it.

And I was _sure_ I heard him say something quietly as I walked away. Something that sounded like, 'Merry Christmas to you _too-oo_.'

I grinned and Fang, catching sight of me, waved. 'Come on!' he yelled.

I leaned down quickly, grabbed a handful of snow, wiped it on my face to get the make-up off and followed him to the car.

--

That night, at about ten pm, after _the Hogfather _was over and the flock was asleep, I put their presents under the tree. Only me and Tony were up. I don't think I ever could call him Dad, like, no matter what.

Tony was sitting on the couch, eating a few leftover slices of pizza (because that's pretty much his favourite food. I'm not complaining) and just watching me. Finally, I sat down on the couch with him, looking at all the lights.

'I like it,' I said.

Tony nodded, trying not to grin. 'Very… creative?' He was talking about how I'd obviously failed to inherit his 'I-can-wrap-presents-well' gene.

'Hey, I tried,' I said, shrugging.

'Have a good day?'

'Yeah. The park was cool.'

'Where'd you go? Iggy and the others were off walking somewhere.'

'Just to the playground,' I said. 'I needed to think.'

Tony smiled. 'You should probably go to bed.'

'What, I'm not tired,' I said, stifling a yawn.

Tony rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, go to bed,' he said. I frowned at him then smiled sleepily and said, 'Allright. G'night, Tony.'

'Night,' he said as I walked to my room. I opened my door, the flock spread out over my floor. Except for Angel, who was on my bed. I smiled, got into bed without waking her up and went to sleep.

--

'Wake up!' Gazzy yelled in my ear. I jumped about a mile _lying down_ and rolled off my bed, the Gasman jumping out of the way.

'Max,' the Gasman said as I saw stars, 'we have presents!'

'Really?' I asked, not sure if the dazed expression on my face was pretend. 'Great. Be there in a moment, Gazzy.'

The Gasman grinned, ran out of my room, holding a Christmas stocking filled with… some things.

'Hey, Max,' Iggy said, throwing me my stocking as I walked into the room. I caught it and said, 'Nice aim, Iggy.'

Iggy smiled/scowled and said, 'Merry Christmas.'

Fang was sitting on the couch, watching the news and looking through his stocking with an actual _smile _on his face: Fang. Smiling.

I sat down next to him. 'What're you so happy about?'

'That… Santa got me this.' He lifted up a new black T-shirt that I'd gotten him. I pretended to gasp. 'You're not supposed to open that until _everyone's _finished going through their stocking,' I told him, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Fang rolled his eyes.

'Wow!' Nudge half-screamed, pulling something glittery gold out of her stocking. 'Chocolate coins! Oh, my God!'

'Whoa!' Tony said, narrowly avoiding Total as he ran up to me with a big bone in his mouth. 'Santa _loves me_,' he said thickly and I laughed.

'Max, look,' Angel said, opening her present from Nudge, 'it's a new outfit for Celeste.'

The bear. You know, Angel's bear? The one she 'told' that woman to get her back in New York?

The flock gathered on the couch, Gazzy and Iggy sitting on the floor while Tony stood.

'Okay, Nudge,' I said. 'You go first.'

We waited as she opened the badly wrapped present (from, yep, you guessed it, me), listening to the tearing.

'Oh, _cool_,' Nudge said, opening it finally, 'Junior Mints! Thanks, Max.'

I smiled. Max rocks the world once again.

'Hey, Iggy, what'd you get me?' said Fang, opening something that looked like a DVD. He blinked at it, held it up so all of us could see:

_Bratz: the Movie._

All of us burst into peals of laughter.

'Oh… oh, my God,' I gasped, tears in my eyes.

'That was… _sooo_ _good_!' Iggy howled, rolling on the floor.

'Genius!' Gazzy agreed, grinning.

'Hey, Ig,' I said, picking up something to me from him that looked suspiciously like a book, 'I thought you were my present.'

Iggy looked over at me and raised his eyebrows up and down. 'If you want,' he said and we started laughing all over again. Even Tony. Even Fang.

After all the presents were opened (Nudge had gotten me this movie called _Ten Things I Hate About You_. I wasn't really sure when I'd watch it, but it looked okay. And Nudge had _plenty _of time to point out, Hey, that's Heath Ledger on the cover), we watched the news for a while.

It was just going on and on about Christmas spirit, which didn't really matter because it _was _Christmas, and how everyone was happy that nothing like a two metre high present from the Joker, filled with C4.

Yep. Good times.

'Hey, I'll make breakfast,' Iggy said, running into the kitchen. Tony followed him as did the rest of the flock, but I stayed on the couch, lifting up the remote to turn off the TV.

'And not to mention,' said the reporter, not Rob, but a grinning brunette, 'not only is Christmas in the air, but young love.'

I froze then turned it down as quickly as possibly, so only I and maybe Iggy if he was concentrating could hear. But he appeared to be laughing it up in the next room.

'Maxine Ride,' (_Oh, God, they've already got it wrong_, I thought) 'daughter of billionaire Tony Stark, was seen in a park with a mystery man last night, and they seemed to be sharing the spirit!'

My jaw dropped open as I saw a picture of me sitting on the swings and the Joker, up high enough so that his face wasn't clear.

Great. So no one knew it was him but me.

That's when something so embarrassing it could kill me hit: what if _the Joker _was watching this? Hell, _millions _of people in Gotham were watching this!

I felt like screaming.

'A couple of passer-bys happened to see the _maybe_-new couple and gladly took a few cute pics,' the brunette's voice continued, as the picture changed to me and the Joker as I was lying down in the snow, then to us _about to freaking kiss_.

God, I hate the paparazzi! Plus, their name sounds like a pizza topping! Take that, photographers! And what's this about the 'new couple'? Oh, my _God_!

Thankfully, his face still wasn't clear enough. Only if someone was a real _genius _and knew everything about the guy would they maybe guess.

'Max,' Angel said, running into the room. I flicked off the TV and smiled at her. She smiled back, looking cute. She always looked cute. 'Breakfast. And I won't tell what was on the news.'

--

Harley was sitting on the expensive leather couch, watching the news. Jack never really had a big thing for Christmas, but she _loved it_. It was so magical, and all the lights were beautiful. She'd gone out last night, just to look at it and it'd started _snowing_. Lightly, but still snowing.

It made her feel like a kid again. She frowned. A happy little kid on Christmas? Something like that, yeah.

Jack walked in, and she brightened. 'Merry Christmas, Mr J!'

Jack rolled his eyes and she smiled. 'There's nothing _really _horrible on the news, sadly enough… ooh, it's back on!'

She felt better when Jack looked at the TV, one eyebrow arched.

Some brunette woman in a grey suit was smiling sweetly at the camera from behind her desk. 'And not to mention,' she said, 'not only is Christmas in the air, but young love.'

Harley saw Jack roll his eyes again and she said, 'It sounds bad, but it'll before you know it!'

'Maxine Ride, daughter of billionaire Tony Stark, was seen in a park with a mystery man last night, and they seemed to be sharing the spirit!'

Harley beamed. Max, that girl on the roof. The one who'd tried to help her. The one with the wings. Harley smiled to herself. Big secret.

But she had a boyfriend now? That was pretty cute. She even noticed Jack straightening up as he saw a picture of that girl, Max, sitting on a swing, smiling happily as someone who's face wasn't clear was swinging quite high.

'A couple of passer-bys happened to see the _maybe_-new couple and gladly took a few cute pics,' the reporter's voice said and two more pictures passed on the screen: one of Max sitting in a pile of snow, frowning up at her boyfriend and the other was of them _really _close.

The guy looked incredibly familiar… Harley frowned. She couldn't quite tell… if only his face was clearer.

She looked over at Jack and realised he was grinning (well, larger than usual). She gulped. _That _was an evil grin.

'What is it, Mr J?' she asked cautiously.

Jack didn't respond… he just continued grinning. Harley asked again.

'Mr J?'

'Yes, Harley?'

'Um… what is it?'

Jack smiled at her and she smiled back. 'You didn't recognise him?'

Harley frowned. 'What? Who?'

Jack rolled his eyes. 'It's not as if you didn't, oh, I dunno… practically never let him out of your sight for the first seventeen years of his life.'

Harley continued frowning then her eyes widened. Her mouth opened. 'It was –?'

'Yeah. And it looks like… he's got a new friend.' He stood up, getting ready to leave.

Harley felt panic flood through her. 'Jack – Mr J,' she corrected herself, 'don't hurt her. She's… she's a nice kid.'

Jack just smiled at her. 'That's why she shouldn't be around kids who _don't _play nice.'

--

**Gasp! **

**Nah, um, please review. Thanks! I hope you liked it!**

**P.S. Don't ask me why I put **_**the Hogfather **_**in. Actually, it's a good movie. I like it. **

9


	21. Chapter 21

9

**Took a while. Sorry. **

**Disclaimer: same as before. **

**--**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

The Joker stared at the electronics store. There was a large line of TVs in the shop's window and for some weirdo reason they were on now.

He was only part of a small crowd who were apparently had nothing better to do on Christmas except for stand about watching the news, saying things like, 'The prices are going up? They can't do that!' at random.

Oh, yeah, Christmas was sooo much fun.

Of course, no one really knew it _was _him because he'd just taken off his make-up. He wished he could've seen their reactions if he _had_. He licked his lips.

Then something on the screen made him stare.

A reporter was talking but the crowd was also talking quite loudly. He caught the words 'Maxine Ride' (_They've already got it wrong_, he thought, grinning) and struggled to listen to some more. The old woman next to him said, 'Shh! Listen!'

Amazingly, everyone obeyed and the Joker watched as the woman continued on with, '… sharing the spirit!'

He blinked when he saw Max sitting on a swing, smiling up at… _him_? The brunette chattered on and some more pictures came on the screen. Wow. Okay, so he was on the news for something else than destroying the city. Great, now he'd have to start over _again_. He thought of the new knife in his pocket and frowned.

He rolled his eyes and the old lady next to him said, 'How _sweet_! That girl is really quite nice, I saw her at that fundraiser… and then that awful Joker showed up!' She shook her head and patted his shoulder, not knowing he was staring at her with one eyebrow raised. 'But I'm glad she's in a relationship now.' She sighed and continued watching the TVs.

'Okaaay,' the Joker said, taking three big steps away from her. 'I'm gonna just leave now…'

'Oh, but where are you going, dear?' the woman asked, turning around. The Joker gritted his teeth. Why did people have to care?

'Uh, I have to find…' He smirked, '… my _girlfriend_.'

The woman smiled. 'Merry Christmas,' she said and turned back to the TVs.

The Joker waited three more seconds to see if she had anything weirder to add, but it appeared not. He turned and took off.

--

Iggy's amazingly good breakfast made me calm. The flock ate heaps, but yeah, don't we always? I mean, when we actually have food.

'So what are we doing today?' Angel asked me. I swallowed hard, remembering she had known about the thing on the news…

My stomach dropped even though I knew Angel wouldn't tell anyone. 'I dunno, sweetie,' I said, gulping down air.

'Max, you okay?' Gazzy asked, concerned. 'You look sick.'

'I'm fine, Gaz. Thanks.' I grinned at him. 'Like what Santa gave you?'

The Gasman grinned back and my heart squeezed. I totally felt mad whenever I thought of what the whitecoats did to any of us. But I also was sorta glad that they were my family. I wouldn't feel complete without my flock.

'Hmmm,' I said, rubbing my hands together. Fang rolled his eyes and I ignored him. 'Where do you guys wanna go?'

_Please do not say the park_, I begged. _Please do not say the park because I KNOW the Joker will find me there. _

Nudge shrugged. 'The park?' she suggested.

'Any other suggestions?' I asked desperately.

'How about the movies?' Gazzy asked excitedly.

'Yeah, I can listen to it!' Iggy said brightly.

Iggy, no matter _what _we do, you'll be listening.

'Movies sound good,' I said, nodding. Even though I would probably hate it. But hey, better two hours of hate then… I dunno, three minutes of embarrassment. Or a lot more minutes.

Hell, it _could _be two hours of embarrassment, knowing the Joker.

'Nah,' said Total. 'They won't allow me in there.'

'And that's a bad thing?' Fang muttered.

'Oh, screw it,' I said, frowning. 'Let's just go to the park.'

Mucho cheering filled the room.

--

Tony's pal Rhodey was coming over later, so it was just the flock that went to the park. I was dreading every second of it.

I went no where near the swings. I stayed away from every place I'd been last night and every place I'd met the Joker. So there was a bunch of equipment to play on (or sit on in my case).

'Sooo,' said Fang. I shrugged. 'Yeah?' I asked.

'Having a nice Christmas?'

I nodded.

'We need to talk,' he said.

I frowned. 'About what?'

'About the Joker.'

I sighed. 'Okay, throw it at me.' I nodded. 'What?'

'D'you really like him?'

'Uh. I dunno.'

'Which means you do,' Fang continued wisely. 'That means I don't have to kill him.'

'Fang,' I said. 'Seriously, you don't still… like me anymore, do you?'

I felt so freaking awkward it was not helping with anything.

'I've taken your word,' Fang said, showing no signs of awkwardness, 'and found… what d'you call her… oh yeah. Goth Girl.'

I nodded, feeling slightly better. 'D'you like her?'

'She's… she's nice.'

'Plus, she'll probably love the whole wings wrinkle.'

Fang stared hard at me. 'Why would I tell her that?'

I shrugged, a little too casually. 'Oh… I don't know…'

Fang rolled his eyes. 'Max, I'm like – your brother. If you think this guy is okay… then I have to let it slide. But if he does _anything _to you, I'm going to kill him.'

'That sounds fair,' I said, wishing the conversation would end. I hated it so much.

'Fang!' Iggy yelled and Fang was hit by a snowball.

'You're a dead man!' he yelled and sprang off to the Gasman and Iggy, who laughed long and hard.

'Max?' I turned around and saw Nudge, Total and Angel – Angel looking guilty.

'You didn't,' I said, looking down at Angel.

'I thought it was cute,' Nudge said helpfully. 'I mean, on the news and all.'

I stared at them. Could my life _get _any worse?!

Total chuckled and I glared down at him. 'What're you laughing at, dog breath?' I snapped. Total narrowed his eyes and trotted away.

'Sorry, Max,' Angel said. She sounded really sorry, too. 'I mean, I mentioned a little bit by accident because Nudge was making me laugh and then she begged and Total wanted to hear it and –'

Peer pressure. 'Its okay, Angel,' I sighed, patting her blond curls. 'Just don't tell the boys and I'll live til next Thursday.'

Angel and Nudge grinned and ran off to the swings.

So besides feeling awkward, embarrassed and annoyed, I was having a _great day_. Frowning, I walked to a tree, and stood next to it, keeping an eye on my flock. _Okay_, I told myself. _That's my dose of horror for the day_. _It's over now_.

That's when someone slung their arms over my shoulders and whispered, 'So, I hear we're the couple everyone's talking about.'

I suppressed a groan. 'What are you doing here?' I asked.

'I, uh, love you too,' the Joker said and I rolled my eyes.

'It was a stupid news report which meant nothing,' I said, unhooking his arms from me. 'Sorry if you thought otherwise.' I turned to him and saw he wasn't wearing any make-up. I blinked.

'Oh, so… we were kissing last night, why?' He licked his lips and smirked. I gritted my teeth.

'Well, if we _were _in such a relationship, _which we're not_, I would probably love every time you came round. Wanna know a secret?' I gave an audible whisper. '_I don't_.'

The Joker grinned. 'Uh-huh… so why'd you give me a knife?'

'I give people presents,' I shrugged.

'People you hate? People you… _really _can't stand?'

I frowned at him. 'Can you just go?'

He shook his head. 'Y'know what I don't get? Whenever I show up, even when you _do _want me around, you're always telling me to piss off.'

'Last night I wasn't,' I argued.

'So you _liked _me being around?'

I blinked at him, opened my mouth and closed it again. 'Well, I'm gonna go,' I said lamely, turning back to the flock.

'Hey, no, wait – I have more stuff to tell you.' He stepped in-between me and the flock, grinning down at me.

'Move,' I told him.

'That's not the drill – _I'm _the one who leaves.'

'Well, why not spawn a new tradition?' I asked drily.

'Because that wouldn't be fun,' the Joker said, pushing me back against the tree.

'Get _off_,' I told him savagely. 'I'd like to try and _enjoy _the rest of my day.'

'I _can _help with that, y'know,' he told me, grinning. My cheeks felt hot again and I looked over at Angel and Nudge, still on the swings.

'Let go,' I said, sounding scarily firm.

The Joker blinked at me and let go. 'Whatever you say, uh… Maxine Ride.'

'It's Max,' I snapped at him and walked over to the flock.

--

The Joker raised his eyebrows. The reason he hated Christmas, he thought, rolling his eyes.

He watched Max for a while, as she walked to the swings and started talking to the little blond kid. Angel. She started smiling at the little girl while Nudge seemed to be blabbing on about something. Without really knowing it, he frowned.

This was just idiotic.

Chewing his scars, he turned around and walked towards the end of the park. So Max was mad. It was like that all the time. He said one thing, Max went against it. But that was the kind of person Max was.

The real question was why he wouldn't leave her alone. He stopped. Why _she _wouldn't leave _him _alone. He continued walking up the path, ignoring the little kids who looked up at him and gasped to their mothers.

After twenty minutes of walking, a black van pulled up next to him. He didn't really know why and he didn't really care.

'Hey, need a ride buddy?' someone asked. He turned around and saw a young man that looked sort of like a model, smiling angelically at him. He felt highly disgusted and wished the guy would give some horrible reaction to his scars.

'Yeah, sorry, uh… "buddy", but I'm fine.'

The guy's smile grew wider. The Joker arched an eyebrow. 'Yeah, we thought you'd say that,' the model said and the back doors of the van opened.

--

'Max, why'd you do that?' Angel whispered as Nudge ran over to Gazzy.

I glanced over at her. 'What, sweetie?' I asked, cautiously. This better not be about my really way-too-personal list.

But of course it would be.

'Why'd you get mad at the Joker?' she repeated anxiously.

'He was being mean,' I shrugged. Only it came out like a question. Like I needed someone to say that was a good reason.

Oh, yeah, I'm asking a seven-year-old if I can get mad. Woo, Max.

'Look, I can get mad at him,' I said with all the dignity I could muster (or all the dignity I could pretend to muster). 'I mean, Angel, he's a serious –'

'Creepy guy?' Angel tossed in, as she began to swing higher.

'Uh, okay. Yes. Creepy guy.'

'But it's Christmas. You don't get mad at people on Christmas.'

I blinked. This was useless.

Crap.

--

The Joker studied the position he was in. Could he get out of it? _Uh, not easily._

There were more model-men in the back of the van, all of them with some type of animal glint in their eyes. One of them gave him the thumbs up sign as the van continued driving.

Oh, wait, he didn't get to the best part: he was pressed up against the back of one of the seats, the person _on the seat _keeping a gun to his head.

Oh, no, wait, the _best part _was that he there were two normal-looking men in white-coats in the van he didn't know.

Wait, hold on: _this _was the best part. His father was in the van. And his mother.

Could Christmas _get _any worse?

'So,' said the man-holding-the-gun-against-his-head in a German accent, 'your father has told us quite a bit about you.'

'Like what?' the Joker asked. 'Did he tell you about the fact that I'm in about ninety-five percent of Gotham's nightmares? Or did he tell you about my, uh, personal life? If so, I'm sure he mentioned I'm addicted to those, uh, wheelie-chair thingos.'

The German sneered. 'It had appeared not,' he snarled and the Joker raised his eyebrows.

'Be nice to him, kiddo,' Jack said from the passenger seat. So that meant, what, Harley was driving. _Crash the car_, he sent her. She didn't seem to receive it.

'You know about Max,' the other man said. He was wearing glasses and he had a thin scar on his face.

'Do you?' the Joker replied.

The man frowned. 'My name is Jeb Batchelder,' he said coldly.

_Oh, I know you_, the Joker thought. This must've been the guy Max was talking about.

'_When Jeb got us out –'_

'_Jeb?'_

'_He was a whitecoat. He felt sorry for us, kidnapped us away from the School, to a place in the mountains. We thought he died two years later, but in fact, he joined up with the School again.'_

'_Ouch.' _

'I looked after Maximum and the flock for years,' continued Jeb.

'Yeah, she mentioned you,' the Joker said. 'Something to do with the spawn of Satan or some demon from the depths of hell.'

The German sneered again. 'Can we just _shoot him_?' he snarled. Harley squealed from the driver's seat.

'Shut up, Harley,' Jack ordered.

'So, who are _you_?' the Joker asked.

'Roland terBortch,' drawled the German.

'Uh-huh. Cool. Well, it'd be great if I could just go –'

'You're not going anywhere,' Jeb snapped. 'And even if _you were_, it would be no where near Max. Understand?'

The Joker frowned. 'Uh… no.'

'Maximum is an amazing specimen,' Jeb said. 'Such an incredible life form – and for some odd reason she enjoys your company.'

'Aw, gee, that hurt my feewings,' the Joker said.

'You're _destroying her_,' Jeb continued. 'You're making her lose her mission.'

'Her… mission.'

'She's told you too much. She's not like other people.'

'Oh, good. I mean, when I figured out she had wings, I really thought, "Hey, where're mine?"'

The German pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

'Why is it not _loaded_?!' roared the German. He turned to look at the driver's seat. 'You!'

Harley gave another squeal and the Joker said, 'I'm just gonna… go. Toodles!'

He jumped up and opened the back of the van door before the models, which were rapidly changing into wolf/human hybrids, could blink. Jumping out, he landed pretty badly on the tar. He laughed and spat out some blood.

There was another gunshot and he blinked: _it hit him_. That German must've found a gun that worked.

Blood gushed out onto his shirt and he managed to stand up. Woozily, he ran to the first place he could think of.

--

Christmas did turn out to be a better day.

I mean, afterwards, we went to a fast food restaurant and bought many a different meals. Like, really good-smelling, mouth-watering meals (drooling).

Heaven. (Angel music in background).

And then we just went back to Tony's place, to find out that him and Rhodey had left. Probably to get a beer or something, I don't know what non-mutant guys really do.

The younger kids and Total were all sitting on the couch or the floor, watching _10 Things I Hate About You _intently. Every few minutes, Nudge would squeal something like, 'Oh, my God, there he is!' or 'Ew, that dude is _so _not hot. Why do all those girls like him?!'

I heard Iggy say something like, 'Who cares, now _shhh_. What does Kat look like?'

'Oooh, Iggy has a crush,' Fang told me, not looking up from his laptop. Writing on the ol' blog, I understand.

I nodded from across the kitchen. 'That does appear to be the case.'

Angel, Gazzy and Total laughed in the next room. Obviously, an actor had delivered a punch line.

'And posted,' Fang said, typing one more key.

'So, can I check your blog?' I asked, drinking some orange juice.

'Probably not a good idea.'

My eyes narrowed. 'Why not?' I said slowly.

Fang shrugged, a little _too _casually.

'What did you write on your blog?' I asked through gritted teeth.

'Just stuff that's been going on,' Fang tried but I snatched his laptop. My jaw dropped. '_Fang_!' I hissed quietly, so the kids in the other room would hear. 'Why the _hell _did you tell people that I'm "dating" Gotham's most wanted!'

'Well, it _is _the truth,' Fang said heavily, but you could see he was enjoying this. 'I mean, I must let my fans know. Plus, now I have about fifty more people.'

'You had, like, over a thousand!'

'I know. But listen to this.' He pulled the laptop away, clicked something and cleared his throat. '"To Fang –"'

'Give – me – that,' I snarled, tugging it back. It was the comments page.

_H20saysgogoGO from Seattle writes:_

_Max! U and da Joker? Wat about Fang? _

_Tenmonthband from Omaha writes: _

_Biggest LOL ever! But seriously, no way! _

_Elva Girl from Sydney writes:_

_Hi!_

_Max, I reckon that is sooo cute! I mean, I haven't really heard that much about the Joker, except that he's got these weirdo scars (?) I think but now I'm _so _gonna find out more._

_Alana from Gotham writes:_

_Max, I'm right here! I see you on the news sometimes and I saw you once at Gotham mall. But didn't the Joker throw you out a window? O_o_

'Fang,' I said, slowly, trying to sound calm. 'I now have fifty people telling me about my life.'

'Yeah, well, look, I'm sorry, but –'

'Shut up,' I said, blankly. 'Just shut up. What the hell did you think you come out of this? Did you think you could just announce this on the Internet and I wouldn't care? I don't _need _people's _opinions_, Fang, e_specially people I don't even know_!'

My voice had been rising higher and higher. Five stunned heads from the living room poked themselves into the kitchen.

'Max?' asked Gazzy.

I stood up and wordlessly walked to the door. 'I'm going out,' I said loudly, feeling a wave of anger and depression wash over me. _Max, _said the Voice and I froze, _don't leave them_.

_Go to hell_, I told it and wrenched open the door.

And my jaw dropped for the second time.

The Joker was slouching against the wall, with no make-up. A dark crimson substance had spread itself through his shirt and his waistcoat.

'Perfect timing,' he said through gritted teeth.

'Oh, my God,' I said, staring at his shirt. 'Is that… blood?'

The Joker rolled his eyes and nearly fell over. 'Could be,' he managed and lost consciousness, falling against the wall, in front of the entire flock.

--

**Sorry for taking so long. Please review and thank you!**

9


	22. Chapter 22

**I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS (cries).**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**--**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Which meant we had to call Tony. Yeah, and _that _was fun. I had to do it, and I couldn't think of anything to say except, 'Um, don't worry _too _much, but…'

'What, did you set the house on fire?' Tony asked jokingly.

I frowned. 'No. Um, there's a bleeding, unconscious clown on the floor.' So much for not worrying.

'Be there in a minute,' Tony said, sounding (you guessed it) worried.

As soon as I hung up, Iggy and I managed to get the Joker into the spare bedroom – Fang wouldn't go near him.

'He looks in need of _one massive _Band-aid. Where's he bleeding?' I asked, my voice accidently high. Iggy didn't notice that, he was running his super-sensitive fingers over the Joker's shirt. He frowned. 'I'm not sure… there's so much… _blood_…'

'Come on, Iggy,' I said urgently. 'You of all people _can do this_.'

'Doctor Iggy, at your service,' he muttered but soon said, 'Right here.' His hand was above the right side of the Joker's stomach.

I heard the door open and Tony say quietly, 'Where is he?'

'There's someone with him,' Iggy said, looking confused.

'With who?' I asked blankly, staring at the Joker.

'With _Tony_, you idiot,' Iggy hissed.

I looked out the door. 'Just Rhodey. How do we do this?' I added, pointing to the Joker's wound.

'Um, well, the whatever-it-was – probably a bullet – went straight through, so we don't have to worry about getting it out. But we do have to worry about the blood he's lost.'

'Does that mean hospital?'

'Or a very skilled doctor that can be bribed easily,' replied Iggy.

'Crap,' I hissed and Tony opened the door.

'Oh, hey, you weren't lying,' he said, rolling his eyes. I frowned at him. 'No, in fact, we weren't.'

Rhodey looked in and his jaw dropped. 'Wow, he's… is that really –?'

'Yep,' Iggy said.

'But he doesn't _look _like the Joker,' said Rhodey, shaking his head.

I stared at him. 'He's got _green hair_,' I said. 'And scars. The make-up isn't the only thing.'

'Max, come on,' Tony said, gesturing towards the rest of the flock. 'We'll handle this.'

I rolled my eyes as best as I could and walked out, feeling sick. As the door closed behind me, I leaned against it and shut my eyes.

'_Wake up_,' I whispered. '_Please wake up. You better not die or I'm going to… to…_' I stopped when I realised I was on the brink of tears. Again.

I stood up and wiped my eyes.

'Max?' asked the Gasman, looking worried.

I gave them a weak smile. 'Doctor Iggy is on the case,' I said in a watery voice.

Fang looked at me with his dark eyes. 'Look, Max,' he said, pulling me aside from the flock. 'I didn't know putting that on the blog would seriously _upset you _that much. I didn't want for it to be… y'know.'

'Awful?' I tried, but smiled at him. 'It's okay. I overreacted.'

'You reacted just fine,' he told me and I swallowed hard and concentrated on the TV, trying to get my mind off the Joker. But it was still playing _10 Things I Hate About You_ so when Nudge saw Heath Ledger _again_, she said in an I-know-this-is-a-bad-time-but-oh-well kind of voice, 'Well… they _do _look alike.' She blushed as soon as she said this, as she realised we all stared at her. 'Sorry. Really bad… time…' Her voice trailed off.

I blinked and swallowed down the lump in my throat. I was turning into the World's Greatest Sap.

'Max, get some sleep,' Fang told me. The rest of the flock agreed and I walked to my room, knowing I wasn't going to get any sleep at all, because I wasn't even tired.

--

But apparently I did, because seven hours later I woke up. At first I looked around wildly, wondering where I was.

Then I remembered. Tony's house. My bed. And I'd cried for a good long time before falling asleep. I looked at the clock. 12:00 am. Midnight exactly. _Oh, hey, it's no longer Christmas_.

I wondered if this could be a creepy sign that someone had died. I realised two seconds later that that was stupid, but seeing as how I'd just woken up, I didn't really have to care.

I stood up, and saw that Gazzy, Angel and Total were asleep on my floor, snuggling into their pillows. I stepped over them and opened my door.

Nudge was asleep on the couch and Fang had fallen into Dreamland holding his laptop. Wishing I had a camera, I managed a smile. _Note to self: tease him mercilessly later. _Ah, the joys of my life.

I looked at the spare bedroom's door. And the sorrows.

Iggy surprised me by walking out of the bedroom. 'Rhodey went home a few hours ago,' he said, surprising me even more. 'I think he's fine now.'

'How'd you know I was here?' I asked.

Iggy smiled. 'That's for me to know and for to _keep _knowing.'

'By God, your comebacks stun me,' I said, shaking my head.

'Hey, I'm the one who healed your boyfriend.'

I gritted my teeth. 'He is not my _boyfriend_,' I snapped as Iggy snickered, holding up his hands so I wouldn't punch him. 'And you didn't _heal _him.'

'Yeah, I just helped him turn away from the Light.' Iggy put on a magical expression.

'Oh, shut up,' I said. 'How can you even joke about that?'

'What, he could,' Iggy shrugged, pointing to the door.

'So, you want to be a murdering psychopath?' I replied, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

'The murdering psychopath you wanted to keep alive and who is now regaining consciousness?' Tony asked, making me and Iggy jump.

'Didn't know you were there,' I said slowly.

'I think he'll be a lot better if _you're _in there, not me,' Tony said, stepping out of the spare bedroom completely. I walked in and closed the door. And stared.

Okay, well, the good news was, the Joker's shirt and waistcoat weren't stained with blood anymore. The bad news was that he wasn't actually _wearing them_.

I wondered if Iggy would crack up at the look on my face. Mainly because I didn't know _what _it was.

There was like a million different bruises, scrapes, cuts and scars – some of them new, some of them really, _really _old. Like that long, thin line going down from his shoulder to his elbow. I blinked. There was a white square of material where the bullet had gone through, but I wasn't really concentrating on that. How did he _survive _all of these? I clenched my fists when I realised it was probably his dad who had given most of these to him.

'Admiring my battle scars?'

I realised the Joker was awake and smirking. Oh, great. Just in time to see that mutant bird kid googling at his chest. How much fun.

I blushed angrily and said sarcastically, 'Oh, thank God. You're alive.'

'Getting there.' He sat up and crossed his legs, looking at me intently. 'So, are you gonna ask me or what?'

'What?' I asked blankly.

The Joker licked his lips. 'How I got shot,' he said impatiently.

'Oh, well, um,' I said lamely, wishing he would just _put a shirt on_. 'How?'

Instead he just grinned at me. 'Feel uncomfortable?'

'No,' I said, waving my hand. 'Just – tell the story, will you?!'

'All right, all right, easy.' He put up his hands. 'I, uh, met Jeb.'

'_Jeb _did that to you?' I asked, surprised. Mainly because a new feeling had awoken within me: something that was telling me to really _kill _Jeb next time I saw him.

Which I hoped would be soon.

'No, some German guy – real whackjob,' the Joker said, rolling his eyes.

'Compared to you?' I asked.

'Ha, funny. No, really, stop.'

'Shut up,' I said, sitting on the bed. 'Seriously, _what happened_?'

'I got shoved into a van by those, uh, Erasers or… whatever-you-call-em and some guy named Roland terBortch put a gun to my head. Turned out the gun was empty and I got out. Then, of course, I got shot.' He shrugged. 'The end. Like it?'

'Very entertaining,' I said, pretending I was about to fall asleep.

'Oh, yeah, by the way, you look great on camera,' he told me, smirking.

I rolled my eyes. 'All right, well, you probably should leave as soon as you can, because, um…' _Fang_. 'Fang will probably kill you.'

'Whatever you say,' the Joker said, lifting up his hands.

'Cool,' I said, standing up and turning to the door.

'Y'know,' he said, pulling himself to his feet with the headstand, 'if you'd wanted me to put a shirt on, you could've asked.'

'Reason number eight-seven why I could never live with you,' I said, rolling my eyes and turning around. 'You just don't leave me alone.'

'And reason number eighty-eight, I can tell what you're thinking,' he said, walking over to me, like, not knowing that he should just lie down with a cut like that.

'Oh, yeah, what?' I asked, crossing my arms. _Get it over with_, I thought. _I just wanna get out of here until you put a shirt on._

'You… want… a sandwich.'

'Close, but no.'

'Second time's best,' he said, starting to grin. 'You _really _want me to put a shirt on.' I shrugged, seriously needing to get out – I was getting all those weird feelings in my stomach again and my cheeks were feeling way too hot. I uncrossed my arms and put my hand on the doorknob.

'Okay,' I said, too casually – and my voice was much higher than usual. 'I'll just… let you get some more sleep and…'

He really was _way too close_. I had a horrible feeling I knew where this was going – and I would've felt a lot better if we weren't in my house. With the flock. And Tony.

'Y'know,' he said, pressing me up against the door. I looked at everything but him. 'I never really _did _give you a Christmas present…'

'Well, Christmas is over,' I said quickly. If Tony and Iggy were still in the living room… and if they'd waken up Fang…

'Well, so it's a _late one_,' the Joker growled, rolling his dark eyes. Without his make-up on, he really did look… kinda cute.

One part of my brain blew up because I thought he was cute. The reasonable part. So I had no trouble with him kissing me.

'You know,' I said, surfacing for air and realising the reasonable part of my brain had grown back and was telling me to go back to my room, 'I really think you shouldn't be –'

'Standing up?' he finished. He grinned. 'I like that idea.' He fell down on the bed, pulling me with him. I gulped, nervous. This was just getting worse and worse…

And better and better.

'You're not scared, are ya?' the Joker asked, smirking again.

'Less talking,' I said, kissing him this time. He tilted his head and again, he somehow got my mouth open and slid his tongue in.

So now I was more enjoying this than freaking out. _Oh, my God, oh, my God._

Someone scratched at the door.

I ignored it. No one would care…

'Max?' Total asked and I stopped. The Joker rolled his eyes. 'Can I kill him?' he growled.

'No,' I said quietly, standing up and trying not to look disappointed. _That dog has the worst timing_.

The Joker rolled his eyes, and turned to lie on his back, glaring at the ceiling.

I opened the door. 'What is it, Total?' I asked. I noticed that Nudge and Fang were no longer on the couch and hopefully asleep in my room.

'Can I get some water?' he asked groggily.

I gave up kissing for _this_? 'Um, yeah, of course, Total,' I said, walking to the kitchen. I realised how tired I was and frowned. Damn it. I took out a bowl and filled it with water from the tap.

'Here you go,' I said, putting it on the floor. Total looked offended.

'Oh, sorry,' I added, picking it up. 'Where d'you want it? The table?'

'The floor's fine,' he said icily. It seemed that jumping up on a chair was too much hard work.

'Uh, okay,' I said. 'Sure.'

After doing what Total requested, I walked back to my bedroom. I shivered when I thought of what could have been happening right now if Total hadn't scratched the door.

But that didn't cover my feelings of disappointment.

I lay on my bed, frowning. And I'd have to deal with this in the morning.

Crap.

**-- **

**:O Gasp!**

**Please review :)**

5


	23. Chapter 23

**THE REASON I HAVE NOT POSTED IN SO LONG:**

**Because at first I couldn't get the internet on my computer so I spent my time just writing five chapters I thought I'd put up later. Then the computer holding the story completely crashed. And I mean **_**completely. **_**I tried to turn it on and transfer it to a different one with a USB but it can barely reboot for five seconds. So, after a few weeks of thinking I was completely and utterly screwed, I tried writing what I could remember. **

**Please do not kill me and I'm so sorry for taking forever and ever and ever and ever... and ever. :)**

**Be warn-ed. The Jax is back. **

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

I opened my eyes groggily and looked at the clock. Three-something. Couldn't be bothered to really check.

I felt weird, like my memory was blocking something out. Then I sat up in bed, my cheeks heating up horribly. That _did not _happen.

'Max?' someone whispered and I realised why I'd woken up in the first place – someone had been shaking me. I looked over at Angel. 'What's up, honey?' I asked softly.

'Can we fly?'

I watched her small pale face looking up at mine. This not moving around all the time was really doing her good. Those bastard scientists had completely screwed up six kid's lives, six kids who might be perfectly normal now. Iggy might've been living in DC with his parents, able to see. Fang might've been living with a mum or a dad or both somewhere, with a cute girlfriend and a cool reputation in school. Nudge might've been in Arizona or somewhere, I don't know. Gazzy and Angel might've been waiting to play with their new presents, showing them off to their mum and dad right now. And I might've been sitting in this room, without a flock, without that real family, wing free, Eraser free, Joker free, with my dad in the next room and maybe a mum. I sighed. I somehow knew I'd always choose the life with the flock if I had a choice. 'Yeah, of course,' I said quietly, opening the window.

Angel smiled sweetly and jumped out the window, unfurling her wings. I swallowed hard, trying not to cry. If only.

--

I walked into the living room. It was seven in the morning and, to my surprise, Fang was back on the couch, wide awake and writing his blog. He looked up at me. 'Blogger won't let me take off the post,' he reported. I nodded. 'That's all right,' I said finally and sat next to him, glancing at the door to the spare bedroom. 'He still in there?'

'How would I know?' Fang asked, shrugging.

'I don't know.'

'What were you doing at three in the morning?' Fang asked suddenly, quirking an eyebrow at me.

I narrowed my eyes. 'Brotherly concern?'

'Entirely.'

'Fine. I was out with Angel, flying.'

'But you were doing something different at midnight,' Fang said quietly. I winced and blushed. 'Look, Max,' continued Fang, 'I heard you guys. And I think you were using me as an excuse to get out of something. If he's –'

'He's not forcing me to do anything,' I said quickly, smiling at Fang. 'It's cool, don't worry.'

'Still,' Fang said. 'I'm... I guess I'm. Okay, I'm not fine with this. But I'm not gonna argue about it anymore, because you're made up your mind. I wanna be your friend too, okay? But do me a favour – don't use me as an excuse anymore.' He stood up, snapped his laptop shut and said, 'Is that okay?'

'Jim dandy,' I said, proud of Fang for saying that. 'Thanks, Fang.'

'Don't mention it.' He rolled his eyes. 'Really.'

--

When the rest of the flock and Tony were up, no one checked if the Joker was still here (Nudge tried to, but I pulled her away from the door because God knows what she would do if the Joker still hadn't put a shirt on).

But Tony did decide to take us to IHOP. Or sort of.

'Listen, Max,' he said quietly while the rest of the flock was going crazy over the fact they were going to the International House Of Pancakes, 'you're going to have to stay here. And I want him gone before we get back.'

'He's just been _shot_,' I pointed out.

'He probably has been shot a lot of times and I doubt he's stayed in houses all those times.'

It was true. And what if someone Tony knew showed up and wham, bam, thank you man, there's a clown in the house.

'I'll stay here,' I shrugged, secretly regretting it.

'Max, I'm seriously sorry about that and I hate pushing you out of everything, especially since –'

'It's fine,' I said brightly, turning him around to face the kitchen. 'The flock loves you. Just have a good time.' I called out to the flock, 'You guys are leaving!'

They ran down to the garage, cheering and whooping. I heard Gazzy say, 'What does IHOP stand for?'

'I Hate Old People,' Iggy said and there were car door slams.

'You sure you'll be fine here?' Tony asked, almost like he didn't want to be here anymore.

Oh, _God no_. 'Yeah,' I said reassuringly. 'Bye, Tony.'

He shrugged, said bye and walked down the metal stairs. 'We'll bring you back something,' Nudge called out from the car.

'Thanks,' I yelled back, pancakes the last thing on my mind.

I heard the garage door opening and the car drove up the circular concrete tunnel that led to the outside. Great. So I was now trapped in a house with a guy that was most certainly going to kiss me next time he saw me. I was dead.

I ran to my room, shut the door hard and locked it, breathing hard. Okay, this was bad. I was completely nerve racked. Oh, for the love of God, this _sucked so bad_. I was hyperventilating. I fell on my bed, feeling half terrified and half mortified something so stupid was worrying me. Erasers? Fine. Emotions? Can't handle them.

I hugged myself and swallowed hard, trying to calm down. I couldn't slip off the handle that easily. That wasn't going to happen, no way. Wasn't going to let it happen. Wasn't going to let it happen. Was _not _going to let it _happen_.

Finally, I felt calm. I could do this. I just had to walk up to the door, knock, and say, 'Yeah, if you're still there, Tony wants you to leave by the end of today.' Then I could run like hell to my room, lock the door and not even have to see him.

It was a brilliantly horrible plan. Okay, note to self: _make better plans._

Okay, maybe I'd see him for a second, but I could just say... something.

I was so _freaking screwed!!!_

I walked up to the door, took a deep breath in, mentally relayed what I was going to do and unlocked it. I swallowed and opened the door.

And walked straight into the Joker.

I nearly swore, but the good news was he was wearing a shirt. That was a lot better than the other. I looked everywhere but his face. I already knew he'd be smirking at my serious awkwardness.

I rubbed the back of my head. 'Hey,' I said, swallowing again. My voice was a lot higher than usual. 'What's going on?'

'Not much,' the Joker said, sounding amused. 'I hear Iron Man wants me out of the house?'

'Um. Yeah,' I said, rubbing my arms. I could feel myself blushing. And he could see it. Urgh, why was I so _stupid? _

'So,' said the Joker slowly. 'I'll just, uh... go.'

'Wait,' I burst out suddenly and he turned back to me. 'Uh. Well, you've just been shot. I mean, you're not going to be able to rob a bank or something with an injury like that, right?'

'I guess,' the Joker, sounding even more amused than before. I didn't know if he shrugged or not. 'If that's what you want.'

'I don't want anything,' I snapped quickly.

'Do you mind looking me in the eyes and telling me that?' the Joker asked innocently.

I felt annoyed, so I glared up at him. And nearly fell over because he looked so calm. Damn these insane people!

He frowned and licked his lips. 'You look like you just had an, uh, gigantic mental blowout.'

'Ka-boom,' I said, smiling for some reason.

The Joker pushed past me and managed to get into my room. 'You smiled, I'm allowed in.'

'Hey!' I grabbed his right arm and pulled him back out, snapping my door shut.

'What, it's not like I haven't been in there _before_,' he said, rolling his eyes. I grinned, shrugging. 'None shall pass.'

'Uh-huh...' He put one hand on my door, leaning over me slightly. 'So, is that, uh, dog gone?'

'Yeah. So is the rest of the flock. They're out at I Hate Old People.'

He blinked and said, 'IHOP is a lot quicker to say.'

'Okay, fine. IHOP. Why'd you wanna know?'

'Just so there wouldn't be any more interruptions,' he said casually, and he did exactly what I'd known he was going to do and I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you what that is.

I closed my eyes, leaning against my door. Right now, I just wasn't caring. I really couldn't. Tony and the flock were out at IHOP, I was completely alone unless the paparazzi flew across the cliffs in a helicopter, taking photos of us through the windows.

I realised I'd opened my eyes again and that I was thinking too much. The Joker realised this too, because for a second he moved his head away and asked, 'You all right?'

'Fine,' I said, a little breathlessly.

'Good,' said the Joker and I realised he was turning the door knob so we could get in my room. I didn't know what to think but I knew I was freaking out slightly.

He pushed me down on my bed and straddled me (_oh, God, what the hell is happening here?!_), still kissing me. I was having trouble breathing because I was feeling completely mental.

He stopped kissing my mouth and went down to the nape of my neck, which completely threw me into dark water. Especially when some weirdo sound came out of my mouth.

Mortification heated up my face as he stared at me, smirking. 'And what was that, Miss Ride?' he asked, one eyebrow arched.

I narrowed my eyes. 'Don't go there,' I said and lifted my head up so I could kiss him properly.

Just as I was starting to feel really good, and not really caring about anything, one of the worst things that could happen did. I realised his hand was under my shirt and that just completely snapped my control into fear.

'Whoa!' I said hastily, sitting and completely breaking off any happy emotions. The Joker moved back slightly, giving me a little bit of space, arching one eyebrow.

I jumped up and ran to my open door. I looked back at the Joker, who was staring at me with confusion and then exasperation.

'I have to... um... oh, God,' I muttered quickly and ran to the spare bedroom, opening the window and jumping out, getting ready to completely scream at myself for messing everything up.

**--**

**Yeah, not a real fan of it. Oops. **

**Please review (and forgive me for taking forever!) **


	24. Chapter 24

**Crazy stuff is happening. Just a warning.**

**I do not own any of the characters.**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

After an hour of mentally breaking off my arms, I flew back to the house, half-worried of what I would find: the flock, the Joker... neither.

The last one was right.

I jumped in through the spare bedroom's window, snapped in my wings, bolted into the living room and yelled, 'HELLO?'

There was no answer. I ran through the house, checking everywhere. Nothing. No people, no signs anyone other than me had been here the entire time. Why'd I have to freak out over something as childish as talking to a guy?

_He's a lot more than just a guy, Max, _the Voice said. _And you know that_.

I did know that. But saying 'a guy' is a lot shorter than saying 'a deranged schizophrenic with a lot of knives and who is in need of family therapy'.

I flopped onto the couch and screamed.

--

Five days passed without much happening. Fang told us he had a date with Goth girl (or Kyra, as her real name was). Gazzy nearly blew up a toaster. Nudge watched a bunch of movies and chattered to us most of the way through them. Iggy slept most of the time (don't know why, maybe Iggy's part owl and it's showing now). Angel talked to Total and Celeste a lot. Tony went out a lot. And I was stuck with my stupid mind and my crazy Voice to listen to.

And of course I felt like an idiot. No freaking _duh_. All I wanted to do was watch some boring, long movie that would suck me into some different place so that I could forget _everything_.

'Fireworks tonight,' Gazzy informed us happily as we were eating breakfast.

I looked at him, frowning. 'Why?'

Nudge stared at me and arched an eyebrow. 'New Years Eve.'

'That's tonight?' I asked, confused.

'Someone's a little behind,' Tony called from the kitchen.

'Quiet, evil billionaire,' I shouted, waving my arm around. Angel and Nudge cracked up.

'You going out anywhere, Tony?' Iggy asked, swallowing his bacon.

'Yeah. New Years Eve party,' Fang said, rolling his eyes.

'I'm blind, give me a break,' Iggy said, waving his hands around. He looked intently in Tony's direction. 'New Years Eve party?'

'Yeah,' Tony said, raising one eyebrow. 'A lot of people are gonna be there.'

'Like who? Jack Napier?' I asked, interested.

'Jack's disappeared from those things ever since people found out he's the Joker's father,' Tony said, searching for something on the counter. 'I mean, we all knew there was something a little... crazy. He had a permanent smile, for crying out loud. But crazy stuff happens in Gotham.'

'Yeah,' I agreed.

'So, do you guys wanna see the fireworks tonight?' Tony asked.

'Of course!' the Gasman said, standing up. 'Are you taking us to the party?' he asked, a little uncertainly.

Tony grinned. 'Probably not a great place for kids.'

'Adult party,' I said. Tony smiled at me. 'So, where do you want to see the fireworks, guys?' I asked the flock, having a pretty good feeling I knew what they were going to say.

Angel smiled as she read my mind. 'I reckon the park has a pretty good view.'

'We always go there,' Nudge shrugged.

'It's a good place to hang out. And there probably won't be any kids at midnight, just us,' Gazzy argued.

'The park sounds good,' Iggy said. 'Not that I'll see anything.'

I rubbed his back. 'We'll talk you through it. Compared to how you'll feel, the firework will suck.'

Iggy gave a small smile.

'All right,' said Fang. 'Park's in.'

--

Tony dropped us off at ten-to-eleven. He said no one would really care he'd come late, and that the party was really supposed to go on into the morning, not into the night. He also said the only person he'd invited was expecting him to come at eleven, so he was fine.

The limo pulled up to the side of the road and the driver said, 'I suppose you'll be stopping here.'

Iggy opened the door before the driver said 'stopping'. He jumped out, landed on his knees and yelled at the top of his lungs, 'FREEDOM!!!'

'You're a freak,' Fang said as he slinked out of the car, pulling Iggy to his feet.

'We all are, we're all freaks, and I am your king,' Iggy told him.

'Okaaay,' Nudge said and the rest of us piled out. Finally I was just standing there, about to close the door.

'Hey, who did you invite?' I asked Tony suddenly.

'Someone,' Tony shrugged.

'It's not a girl, is it?' I asked. Tony grinned roguishly. 'Oh, come on,' I said, rolling my eyes. 'Let me guess: the blondes at the party are already taken, so you invited one for the hell of it.'

'See you later, Max,' Tony said, leaning over and closing the door. I laughed and he mouthed through the glass '_walk_ home when you get bored. I'll be home late'. The car drove off and the younger kids and Total ran off to the equipment, leaving Fang and Iggy at a park table, talking about their ideal dream girl (Fang's didn't sound much like me, not that I'm complaining). I listened for a while, pretending I wasn't, then thought about how much better it would be to fly up in the air to see the fireworks. Only problem: getting hit. So I just sat and passed the time until it was eleven thirty. I decided to walk off into the trees, just kind of slip away through the snow.

Somehow, I just knew I was going to see the Joker tonight. He always showed up here. And Nudge and Angel knew it too, because they'd decided to make me over as much as they could.

So now I was Max Barbie Doll. Well, sort of. I'd let them straighten my hair and then the whole combing thing was weird, and then they'd put it up in a pony-tail but left most of my fringe down so, according to Fashion Nudge, if anyone saw me from the front it'd look like I had a particular hairstyle called 'a bob'. They put eyeliner on me, made me wear a blue and black striped V-neck sweater and a trench coat I'd gotten for Christmas over it (after I'd cut slits in it) and told me to tell them everything that happened.

Jeez, this was going to be fun. Detecting the sarcasm?

But the thing was... I looked in the mirror and I kind of looked... pretty. In a Maxish way, too. I wasn't in a dress, I was in jeans and my boots and stuff I would usually wear. The only difference was the eyeliner.

I realised I'd been standing around in this snowed-over tree clearing for a while, just staring up at the sky, waiting. I wondered what time it was and suddenly wished I had Fang's watch. Maybe eleven forty-five, come to think of it. Later?

Then someone's arms slung around me and someone's voice said, 'You look great.'

I pushed his arms off, turned around and gave the Joker 'I dare you to say something' look. He looked surprised. 'Wow, you look even better from the front.'

'Very funny,' I said, narrowing my eyes. 'I like your make-up too.'

'Not joking,' he said, smirking.

'Fine,' I said, crossing my arms. 'I know I look like a Barbie Doll.'

'Last time I checked Barbie didn't wear combat boots.'

'Since when've you checked up on Barbie?' I asked, amused.

The Joker rolled his eyes. 'Mom always wanted a girl,' he said. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but I giggled anyway.

'So, how've you been over the, uh, last five days I haven't seen you?' the Joker asked.

'Okay,' I shrugged. Depressed. 'A little bored.'

'So you missed me?'

'Nah,' I lied. 'I was fine.'

The Joker grinned. 'Sure you were. Where's Mister Stark?'

'Out at a party,' I shrugged.

'Ooh. Blondes?'

I smiled. 'Most likely.'

'And you're not disgusted by that? That's kinda creepy.'

'Oh, shut up,' I said, rolling my eyes. The Joker chewed his scars. 'You do look really good,' he said after a minute, watching me sharply.

'Thanks,' I said awkwardly, shifting my feet.

'Oh, hey,' the Joker said suddenly, standing up straighter. 'We better make the talking stop or there's not gonna be enough time.'

'Time for what?' I asked, confused. For us to find a good place to see the fireworks? We were in a clearing, right?

But the Joker smiled evilly and said, 'Time for me to do this.' And he pushed me up against a tree, holding onto my shoulders and slid his tongue into my mouth.

Very subtle.

I sort of shrank back against the tree trunk, folding my arms around his neck, closing my eyes. I was such a freak. But right now I didn't really care.

Then the Joker pulled away. I started to protest but he was saying something. 'And here... we... _go_.'

There was a sudden loud exploding noise and my eyes snapped open. I was about to ask what the hell had he done when I realised he was looking up at the sky. At the fireworks. Oh.

'It's a new year,' I said suddenly, kinda thoughtful. The Joker looked back at me. 'Really? I had no idea,' he said. I rolled my eyes. 'View's better from down here,' he said and pushed me onto the ground, falling down next to me.

After I'd wiped the snow off my face, I saw he was right. Unintentionally right. Man, if that happened to me when I was arguing with Iggy or Fang that would rock.

I watched the explosions of different colours and could hear the cheering. I wondered what Tony was doing now, if he was watching this or if he was with that girl he had invited. I shrugged the thought away and continued watching the fireworks.

I had a sudden feeling that told me someone was watching me. I looked over at the Joker and saw he wasn't staring at the fireworks, he was staring at me. I smiled and knew I was blushing. He licked his lips and propped himself up on his elbows. 'So, what'd you do last year, Miss Ride?'

'I went out with my best friend, who I thought I really liked, but the last guy I ended up kissing last year was some real weirdo,' I said, smiling.

'Really? Cause that's, uh, sorta what happened to me... y'know minus the best friend part and the whole... going out thing and... it's not a guy,' the Joker said, shrugging. I laughed. 'But besides that I'm hanging out with a _total whack job_.'

'Oh, thanks,' I said, rolling my eyes.

'A total whack job who looks _re-hee-heally _good tonight,' the Joker added, smirking at me.

I shrugged. 'Is that whack job going to be the first person you kiss this year?' I asked.

'Finally!' the Joker exclaimed, rolling his eyes. 'You were taking forever.'

'The fireworks haven't even stopped,' I pointed out, laughing again.

'Look, shut up,' the Joker said, moving his elbows out and falling back on the snow. I closed my mouth, stifling a giggle. I was feeling better than I had since... since Christmas, practically.

'So, are you going to say something to piss me off now?' I asked sarcastically, looking over at him but I saw he was staring at me almost expressionless. He licked his lips. I didn't know what my face looked like, but I hoped it wasn't something stupid. The Joker moved over slowly and I surprised the both of us by being the one that leaned over and kissed the other.

We rolled over though, so my back was once again wet and my wings were feeling slightly uncomfortable.

'MAX! WE'RE GOING!' Nudge yelled suddenly and I broke off resentfully. 'I gotta go,' I said, shrugging and trying to sit up. He didn't move.

'Fifteen more minutes,' he said.

I grinned. 'Fifteen? Pretty big space of time. Is it because I "look good" tonight?'

'Oh, yeah, I should add that on,' the Joker said, frowning. 'Hold on... carry the three... thirty minutes.'

I laughed and he rolled off me. 'I'll see you around sometime, right?' I asked.

'I'll show up,' the Joker shrugged. 'I know where you live.'

'That's reassuring,' I said brightly, standing up and rubbing snow on my face.

'You better look this good next time,' the Joker warned as I wiped my face on my sleeve. I looked up, grinned at him and said, 'I don't really know when that'll be. Ring me, maybe. No. Really.'

'Just go,' the Joker said, rolling his eyes. I stood there for a second then jumped over and hugged him.

He kind of turned to stone and then growled, 'Get off.'

'Aw, you love it,' I said, letting go and grinning at him. He rolled his eyes again and I turned around, walking away.

'If you do that again, I'll come after you,' he called out finally. I grinned and didn't give any indication I'd heard him.

--

I had fallen asleep on the kitchen table. At least, I think I had. I was sitting down and my head was leaning on my arms, and they were on what felt like a table. But not Tony's. This felt rougher.

I lifted my head and realised with panic that this wasn't Tony's house. I looked around wildly and realised exactly where I was. Plus, Harley in the kitchen sort of gave it away.

I stood up, adrenaline pumping through me, ready to fight when I noticed I hadn't made the chair move as I'd stood. I looked around wildly and saw Harley wasn't noticing me and that everything here looked a good deal less dusty and that she was cooking something. I rolled my eyes. Another memory. Brilliant.

Harley looked worriedly at the clock, winced and continued humming to herself. I frowned. Why was she worried? Was she waiting for the Joker? Was this the part where he'd run off when he was seventeen? If so, why wasn't I seeing it with him? I looked at the clock and blinked. Harley would've phoned the police by two o'clock in the morning. And... and she wouldn't be cooking.

I sat back down at the table, trying to figure out where I was in time when the door opened. I looked over and swallowed hard. It was Jack, grinning crazily.

'Mr J,' Harley burst out. 'I was so worried! I thought –' Then she saw the way Jack was looking at her and froze. 'Mr J?' she whimpered.

'Come here, Harley,' Jack said and lunged for her. Harley shrieked, turned around and grabbed a kitchen knife, turning back to him looking terrified. He laughed and jumped at her. She screamed again and moved out of the way. 'Mr J, stop it!' she squealed and dodged again as he lunged.

This seemed oddly familiar. My mind suddenly found it and my stomach dropped like a wheelbarrow full of lead.

'_He comes home one night, crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit.'_

'Oh, God,' I said loudly to myself. _Voice, please_, I begged hysterically. _Please get me out of here, I can't deal with this, please!_

There was silence. Then _I'm sorry, Max_.

I froze then started shaking horribly. I looked away from Jack and Harley and saw someone small looking around the corner from the hallway. Its eyes were wide and dark, its hair was rumpled as if it'd just been sleeping and it was wearing a loose grey T-shirt. He walked out slowly, emerging around the corner. I noticed he looked slightly determined and was hiding well that he was scared. His jeans looked as though they'd been lying on the floor and he'd just picked them up when he heard his mother screaming. He was watching every second of this, looking as though he was used to it, but hated it and finally wanted to do something about it.

I looked over at Jack, who had finally grabbed Harley and was no pressing her up against the counter. She didn't even try to wrestle the knife, he just took it. She was breathing hard but he looked calm. 'You should've just come here,' he said simply, as if they were talking about a book or something.

'Dad, stop it!' the Joker shouted.

Jack and Harley's head both swivelled over to their son. 'Oh...' Harley swallowed hard, choking down a sob, pretending everything was all right. She was starting to cry. 'It's okay, Puddin',' she said in a watery voice. 'Just... go back to... bed, _please_... go back to bed.'

But Jack was staring at his son, grinning wildly. He let go of Harley and she slid down to the floor, whimpering hysterically and trying not to break down. 'What's wrong, kiddo? Why so serious?' He began walking towards him, knife in hand.

My vision was getting blurry and I realised I was crying. I wiped my eyes, swallowing down emotions but still shaking frantically. _You'll wake up_, I told myself, _you'll wake up and it'll be okay_. I knew that wasn't going to happen.

The Joker looked at the knife, swallowed and took a step back. 'Dad,' he said, sounding like he was trying to tell his father to knock it off. He sounded like he was trying to be calm. 'Dad, stop it,' he said, taking another step back. He hit the wall but continued staring at his father. 'Please, Dad –'

'Why so serious?' asked Jack, advancing on his son. He stood up a little straighter, ready to take whatever was coming to him. I choked, the lump in my throat hurting. He was thinking that whatever his dad would do to him, it wouldn't be anything life-threatening, right? His dad would never hurt him that badly, right? He seemed to be abandoning that thought though as his dad came closer.

Jack knelt down in front of him and slipped the blade inside his son's mouth. 'Let's put a smile on that face,' he said and I put my head down on my arms, crying hard and the Joker's screams mixed with Harley's.

And I was awake, breathing hard with tears streaming down my face. I was on the couch and I realised someone was sitting next to me, rubbing my shoulder. I realised it was Tony and couldn't help but feel embarrassed. I sat up, tried to stop crying and said, 'I'm fine.'

Tony didn't say anything.

'What time is it?' I asked.

'Three. I'm surprised you didn't wake the other kids up.'

I nodded. 'How loud was I?'

'Not very. But you were pretty terrified. What was happening?'

I shook my head, swallowed again and said, 'Nuh – nothing.' Then I saw the image of the Joker looking almost like Gazzy, looking innocent enough and I started crying all over again. Tony put one arm around me and said, 'It's okay,' a couple of times. But it really wasn't. I appreciated him trying to help, but it really wasn't.

First dream of the New Year and it sucked.

**--**

**Yeah, that's my retelling of the Joker got his scars, I guess. Um, yeah. **

**Please review**


	25. Chapter 25

**WARNING: stupid chapter ahead.**

**Well, I honestly think it sucks. Nothing really happens in it. James Patterson and Christopher Nolan (NOLAAAAAN!!!) would be have me assassinated. **

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

So what the heck was _I _gonna do? I mean, I felt like I was going to break open if anyone told me anything slightly annoying or depressing. And I felt like an idiot for going all Hallmark on Tony and crying. No way was I telling him anything, though. In fact, I didn't think I could tell _anyone _this... not Iggy (God no), Gazzy wouldn't understand and he'd be upset I was feeling crazy, plus I just didn't _tell _the younger kids my problems, and I couldn't tell Fang... I just couldn't.

After a while, I managed to cut off my crying and just felt horribly embarrassed. I honestly had to get all this stupidity under control. _Note to self: keep feelings in locked rooms. Padlocked, chained, and boarded up rooms._

'You okay?' Tony asked quietly. I nodded. It was a lie, but what the hell.

'Do you want to talk about it?' I shook my head. For a while, we didn't say anything. Then,

'Who did you invite to that party?' I asked again, sounding shaky.

Tony rolled his eyes. 'Not the subject.'

'Yeah, but I wanna know.' I sighed. 'You two didn't end up making out and now you're upset and irritated about the subject?' I _so _didn't mean to say that.

'_Max_,' Tony said warningly and I clammed up. 'Look, are you sure you don't want to talk about... whatever just made you do that?'

I shook my head. 'I'm fine.' For now.

'All right. But...'

'Don't, Tony,' I told him, sounding stronger and sitting up straighter. 'I'm fine. Seriously.'

Tony shrugged. 'Just saying,' he said, holding his hands up. 'I don't actually have any idea what's going on here. If it makes you feel any better?'

I shrugged back. The stupid thing was that it_ did _make me feel better. 'Look,' I tried awkwardly, 'it's just some stupid, probably hormonal problem. Could you, um, just try and forget the whole thing?' Great progress; only lied about one thing in _that _sentence. The hormonal part, for ya'll family from Texas who have no idea what I'm talking about. _Note to self: shut it with the Texan stuff._

Tony frowned and tried to say something but I held up my hand. '_No_,' I said strongly.

'You don't even know what I'm trying to say –'

'_No_.'

'Fine,' Tony gave in, standing up. 'I'll forget it.' He walked to his room and called back over his shoulder, 'Do you want to go back to your actual bed or just stay here?' He didn't hear me because he closed the door to his room, which I was kinda glad of, because I had nothing to say.

--

'Kyra's coming over today,' Fang said, gulping his cereal down.

I stared at him, holding onto my couch pillow. 'Yeah... so?'

'Just want to let you guys know.'

'Does she have any hot friends?' Iggy asked, leaning over the top of the coach and spilling toast crumbs all over Total.

'Sexist piiig,' I sang, pretending to not care about last night, turning my eyes back to _Ten Things I Hate About You_. It was actually a pretty good movie, despite Nudge's commentary. Okay, truth was, I wasn't even watching it, but the few parts I saw here and there were interesting.

And the rest of the truth was, I kinda felt like snapping. Fang bringing Kyra over – well, made me want to scream. I so did not need someone here asking me questions, especially if it was good ol' Goth girl who was chatting up _my _best friend in the freaking _mall _while I was completely devoted to the one and only Fang. Okay, so most of that is just dramatic crap, but hey, the situation felt like that!

Back when the situation mattered.

'Max?'

I frowned and looked over at Gazzy. 'Hm?'

'Are you okay?'

'Uh. Yeah, I'm fine,' I managed, feeling my heart squeeze painfully at the look of concern on Gazzy's face. This brought me back to my dream. Oh, man, I was gonna _lose it_.

I tried to smile at Gazzy but the good thing was he was already looking away. I flung my couch pillow onto Total, jumped to my feet and waltzed to my room (which is not a literal term).

--

'So, how do you guys feel about that weird swine flu thing that's happening?' Kyra asked. She was completely clothed in black, with a freaking nose stud and two lip rings. I had a feeling Tony would kill her and Fang if he saw her in the house. I smiled at the thought.

'I personally think Swine Flu is a person,' Iggy said, shrugging. 'I think he wants to break into our houses and murder us all. I mean, that's what happened in Mexico.'

'Iggy, shut up,' Nudge told him but Kyra laughed. So far, the entire flock loved her: her personality, her relationship with Fang, her clothes, her ideas, her voice that never seemed to stop...

Oh, except Max. Hm.

The first thing she said to me was, 'Gee, why are _you _looking so pissed?' _Gee_, I dunno, maybe from the fact I just saw an eight-year old kid get freaking Wolverined by his own father.

So, things have kinda gone downhill from since I answered with, 'I dunno. Why do you look so depressed? Is it the black?'

Yeah. Whoops.

So she's spent the rest of her time donating the snide comments at me. Like, 'Hey, stop looking at me like I'm Godzilla' or coughing 'freak' right next to me. Uh-huh, and just _who _is being the girl all in black?

Which is why Fang is _perfect _for her.

I looked at the clock. Three hours until she leaves. I could always go to my room, but that might cause attention and the question 'Gee, why are you leaving?' or 'What's wrong, freak?' I wished she would say that because then Fang might chuck her out.

'I'll take plates out,' I offered, scooping them all off the table and walking to the kitchen, dumping them in the sink with an almost musical clatter and dusting my hands off as if to say 'job well done'.

I heard Kyra whispering something and my body tensed. The flock laughed and I couldn't help but feel paranoid. I immediately scolded myself: this was _the flock_, my family, they wouldn't laugh at something some Goth chic said. Or would they?

Now I was just being stupid. Ugh, but what _had _they said?

There was more laughter and I suddenly burst out with, 'Hey, I think I left something at the park last night.'

Nudge and Angel exchanged amused glances and I narrowed my eyes at them.

'What?' Fang asked, sounding actually kinda concerned.

'My jacket,' I said.

'I thought you brought it home,' Gazzy said. Kyra was watching me with annoyed disinterest.

'Oh, hey, guess not,' I said, not looking at Gazzy before I had a screaming fit. 'Well, I'll go get it.'

'Now?' asked Iggy.

'Yeah, why now?' asked Kyra, sounding like she was all tough and footy-pants.

Like I wouldn't kick her butt in less than a minute.

'Because it'll be soaking and probably halfway to hell, so I kinda wanna try and savour my last few moments with it,' I said lightly (or tightly). 'So, I'll be back in... an hour, at least.'

'It's probably only a forty-five minute walk, there and back,' Iggy pointed out.

_And an even shorter flight_, Angel added in my head. I nodded at both of them and said, 'I'll have to look for it. Okay, well, see ya later,' I added brightly and walked out, not looking at anyone, even though I _knew _they were all staring at my back in surprise.

--

Fifteen minutes from the park, I was surprised to find my emotions were trying to take over. I clenched my fists, bit my lip, swallowed hard, and did anything I could to not cry. I realised I was shaking madly, frantically, hysterically. I felt insane. I _was _insane. I'd witnessed a poor little kid being attacked by his dad. Oh, God. The Joker had to freaking go _through with it_ –

That single thought made me snap. Good thing I was at the park.

I smashed my fist into a tree as hard as I could and screamed as loud as I thought I should at the pain. Okay, so I screamed louder than I should have, but I didn't care. I attacked the tree for the next ten minutes then had to grab my knuckles in hysterical pain. I crashed to the ground, hyperventilating, tears running down my face.

_You did this_, I screamed furiously in my head.

_I didn't want to, Max,_ the Voice said.

_I don't CARE! YOU DID IT ANYWAY!!! YOU LET THAT STUPID MEMORY GO RIGHT AHEAD, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!! YOU KNEW WHAT FREAKIN EFFECT I'D GET FROM IT, DIDN'T YOU? But who CARES, after all? I mean, it's only a teenage girl's MIND YOU'RE SCREWING WITH!!!_

My knuckles cracked. I'd been pushing down on them without realising it. I made some animal noise of rage and lashed out at the tree with my foot. I fell on my back, panting and half-crying.

I needed to die. That was all. Just one little thing.

--

I took as long as I wanted to get home. I wanted Kyra to be gone. I wanted no one to be there. I just wanted to go to my room and sleep it off. Mental blowout gone. I wished. I hoped.

This freaking Voice had turned me into a goddamn wreck. I knew it. I was a lot better than I had been this morning. But I still felt something that I hated: I felt _alone_. I couldn't tell anyone about this stupid dream: Fang, Tony, the rest of the flock. I most certainly couldn't tell _Kyra_. I could tell the Joker, but if I did he wouldn't be serious or he'd try to kill me.

I frowned. The only person I could think of talking to would be Dr Martinez... and she was all the way in Arizona!

Oh, fun times.

'Hello?' I asked, opening the door and moving swiftly to my room.

'Hi,' Nudge piped from the other room.

'Is Kyra still here?'

'No. She left with Fang ten minutes ago. Went to the mall. Me and Angel were just talking about some stuff on the news. What's –?'

Her voice was muffled behind my bedroom door closing. I fell onto my bed and breathed out heavily.

Sleeping would be nice.

**Stupid chapter and I really can't stand it. :)**

**You do not have to review on account of how stupid this chapter is. Apologising. **


	26. Chapter 26

**I'm BACK!!!!**

**WARNING: involves abuse. And the Joker! :D**

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

When I woke up, it was definitely... three in the morning. I looked at the clock and rolled my eyes. Slept it off longer than I thought.

I rolled onto my back and put my hands over my eyes. I'd fallen asleep above the covers and with my jeans on. And here's the kicker – I actually felt better. A hell of a lot better. I felt like I could be sarcastic again!

For some reason the thought of that made me smile. 'Thank God that's over,' I mumbled to myself.

'There's not very many ways to reply to that, but I'm gonna give it a shot: thank God _what's _over?'

'What the _heck_ are you doing here?' I hissed, looking over the edge of my bed and accidentally falling out. There was an _oof _as I landed on someone.

'Oh, you were actually awake when you said that,' the Joker said, clearing his throat and arching his eyebrows. He suddenly frowned and growled, '_Why are you still on me?_'

I rolled off of him quickly and sat up. 'I asked a question first – what are you doing here?'

'I'm not here.'

'Yes, you are!'

'No, I'm not.' He didn't even sound sarcastic. He sounded like he was telling the boring old truth. 'You're dreaming. Again.'

'Oh, really?' I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 'Listen, I don't _dream _about you – well, I do, but not you in the present.'

'Oh, really?' the Joker asked, mimicking my tone. I glared at him and he smirked, lifted up his right hand and snapped his fingers.

I woke up on my bed with my jeans on. I sat up, very confused.

'What the _heck _just happened?' I asked and looked at my clock. Oh good. It was only five in the morning. Much better than three. I rolled my eyes and fell back on my pillow.

_You still feel better than yesterday,_ the Voice said. I groaned but had to admit it was right.

--

I rolled out of bed before everyone else did. It was around seven when I walked into the kitchen and looked for something in the fridge that I might not destroy, and about seven fifteen when Iggy walked in.

'Mornin',' he said, raising a hand, his sightless eyes pointed in my direction. 'You okay?'

'Yeah, I'm fine, Ig,' I said brightly.

Iggy shrugged. 'You just seemed a little... annoyed yesterday. And you've been in your room for over twelve hours.'

I couldn't help but feel a little happy. It was hilarious when Iggy wasn't being sarcastic and actually showing he cared.

'I'm fine. But everyone else won't be if I cook breakfast. So please,' I asked, 'can you help me?'

'Well, because you said please,' Iggy said, rolling his eyes and elbowing me out of the way of the fridge and leaning in, touching things and shaking them to see what they sounded like. I smiled.

--

'Are you sure you're okay?'

'Yes, Fang, I'm fine.'

Fang gave me a look so hawklike it was disturbing.

'I'm _fine_, Fang. Just had a bad day yesterday.'

It was a pretty sunny day and we were down at the rocks. Me and Fang were on boulders, soaking up sun, Nudge and Iggy were talking and Gazzy, Angel and Total were playing in the water. I was glad we weren't at the park for once. But I felt stupid because beaches reminded me of the Max and Fang days... and when I'd tried to cut my chip out.

I shivered and looked at the scars on my left arm. They were white and thin. Disturbing old memories.

'Why're you thinking about that?' Fang asked, eyeing my wrist.

'Fang,' I said, looking him in the eye. He nodded, and there would've been a time where I would've said everything to him. But now I could only say some things. 'I saw how the Joker got his scars.'

Fang blinked. 'Are you serious?' he asked, lowering his voice.

'Absolutely. He was...' I shivered again. 'He was like Gazzy's age. Younger. And his dad went completely mental.'

'Do you want to talk about it?' Fang asked. He meant in a detailed way. Or maybe he meant what I had to say on it. I shook my head. 'No,' I said quietly, and curled up, looking out at the ocean. Suddenly, I snapped out my wings, jumped to my feet and took off, flapping down hard. And then it was all better.

Upwards stroke, downwards stroke, upwards, and so on. I could see my reflection on the water. I looked down at it and smiled at the blurry Max in the moving waves.

If only life was like this all the time, and wasn't so freaking _screwed up_.

--

At about six the sky turned dark and it started pelting down with rain though. Not the kind of rain you can walk out in and be like, 'Wow, this is nice.' It was the kind of rain that threw itself at the ground and made you glad you were inside.

We were all slumped around my room, listening to the rain and with the light turned on. Nudge was on her stomach in the middle of the floor, talking to Gazzy, who was also on his stomach and eating Cookies 'n' Cream Ice-Cream (even though it was, well, sorta _freezing_). Iggy was under my window, engaged in conversation with Fang, who was sitting up against the opposite wall next to my bathroom door, talking about something that as much as I tried to listen to faded out of my subconscious. Total was curled up at the end of my bed, snoring and twitching, while Angel and I were sitting on my bed, with my pillow behind her back, and she was talking enthusiastically to the Gasman and Nudge. I had one arm around her shoulders protectively, even though there wasn't anything to protect her from.

For now.

Me? I wasn't doing anything except looking at the window to see the rain splash across it, listening to the noises it made, and watching over the flock time to time. I nearly felt like we were in a cave somewhere, watching for Erasers to come and attack, feeling hungry but almost kind of successful, because we'd beaten everything the School had thrown at us.

I shivered. Why had the School left us alone for so long? The Erasers could come and attack this place any time they liked. For that moment, everything seemed to crash:

_I hated being this public. Anyone can find us, the School _will_ find us, and they'll kill people to get to us because now we have too many contacts with the outside world, like Tony, and Dr Martinez, and Ella, and the Joker, and I hate it, I never want to go back._

Ari was dead.

Then the crash moment ended and I felt childish for worrying about so many things that, now when I thought about it, still seemed like things to worry about. And Ari dying was something I hadn't thought about in forever.

I frowned. Why _hadn't _I thought about it in forever? Hm, because a crazy clown was following me all the time and then I kissed him? Yeah, probably.

I couldn't help but feel better all the same that one of my enemies was down.

So what else did I have to worry about?

Oh, yeah, that I was completely going to die if I didn't see the Joker again sometime soon. I was seriously peeved off – he said he'd come sometime, and I had no idea where the hell he lived. IF he lived anywhere. I could always go to the park – that was some place he hung around in –

'Max?' the Gasman asked, looking at me. 'Are you okay?'

I looked over at him and nodded. 'I'm all good, Gazzy.'

--

'You guys wanna go to the mall today?' Nudge asked in a bored tone, like she was just throwing it out there and not really caring for our reply.

It was raining like hell the next day and instead of being slumped around my room, we were now slumped around the living room.

'Not really,' Iggy said tonelessly. 'It'd mean leaving this couch.'

'It's not that bad,' I said lightly, looking outside. In truth, it was pretty bad, but nothing compared to yesterday's bullet-drops. 'You know what? We could go to the park...'

Iggy snorted.

'Hey, is Tony here?' Gazzy asked, frowning as he stared at the TV that wasn't on.

'Maybe he drowned,' said Fang, shrugging. Angel was sitting on the floor, moving Celeste around, looking half-asleep. It was a slow conversation, like no one could be bother talking.

Except for me.

'_How _could he have drowned?' I asked, frowning. Fang shrugged. 'Shower's are dangerous.'

I rolled my eyes, standing up. 'I'll go check on him.'

As I walked across the living-room to Tony's door, I heard Iggy murmur 'Isn't it weird when Max says that kind of stuff?'

'So _incredibly _weird,' Fang muttered and I gritted my teeth, opening Tony's door.

And he was not in there.

I looked out at the flock, about to ask when Iggy droned, 'He's down in the garage.'

I narrowed my eyes. 'And you didn't tell us this earlier when Gazzy asked, _why_?'

Iggy shrugged. 'Cause I only heard him moving down there now. He's being really quiet.'

I rolled my eyes, annoyed Iggy couldn't see my expression, travelled back across the living-room and walked down the metal stairs which clanged under my feet.

'Tony?' I called and stopped, staring at him. He was sitting down at a table, looking amazingly vacant, staring at the designs practically thrown all over the desk. Only he probably wasn't aware of their existence.

'Tony?' I asked, raising my eyebrows and jumping the last three steps.

'Um-hmm?' he hmm-ed, not moving the slightest.

'Why do you look like you've been up all night and are nearly half-dead?' I demanded, standing behind him and using my Dr Max tone.

He turned around, showing some expression of human emotion (annoyance) and his eyes were focused on me. 'I wasn't up all night. I've been here since five.'

'Oh, that's normal,' I said sarcastically.

'Hey, you used to _leave _the house practically before that,' Tony argued.

We both stared at each other with wide eyes. 'Oh, my God,' I said. 'I sound like the parent here.'

'Oh, my God,' Tony said, sounding exactly like me (just, well, he's a guy). 'You sound like the parent here.' I rolled my eyes at him and he grinned momentarily to annoy me, turning back to the ideas all over the papers and... not really watching them. I stepped up to the desk and looked at him. His eyes were less vacant than before but they were getting back. I snapped my fingers and his eyes flickered to me.

'Yeah?'

'What's up?'

'Uh... nothing.'

'Can you possibly sound like the parental here for a moment?' I asked, sounding slightly whiny.

Tony shrugged. 'Don't really feel like it.'

'But of course,' I said, narrowing my eyes.

'Hey, I'm a guy. I can _be_ immature forever. You can go back upstairs now if you want.'

I looked around for a chair for a minute, found one and dragged it to the desk. 'Unlikely. No one's doing anything.'

'I can HEEEAAAARR YOOOOUUU,' Iggy sang loudly and I rolled my eyes. Tony looked up at the staircase and raised his eyebrows. 'That wasn't weird at all...'

'Seriously, what's wrong?' I pressed.

'Nothing,' Tony insisted, picking up a scrunched-up ball of paper and chucking it in the air, catching it and chucking it up again.

'Can't think of anything you want to make?'

The paper ball whistled through the air and landed back in his hand. 'No.' He sounded bored, like I was going to get nothing out of him. Let him have fun while he can, bwahahahaha! 'It's fine, Max –'

'Can't figure out what some Black Sabbath song that's absolutely driving you _crazy_ is called?'

'No, Max.'

'Is it a different band? Like ACDC or Coldplay?'

The paper flew back up and back down. 'No. Since when have I liked Coldplay?'

'I don't know.'

The fact he was throwing the ball in the air and catching it repeatedly was starting to get on my nerves. 'Come on, what's wrong?'

'_Nothing_, Max, God... what is it with you and –?!'

My arm snapped out and grabbed the paper ball in midair. I pulled my arm back to my side, my knuckles cracking and my shoulder blade. '_What's _– _wrong_?' I asked slowly.

Tony stared at me for a few seconds, probably wondering which smart remark to make. So he totally surprised me when he said, 'You know that girl I invited to the New Years Eve party?'

'Tall, blonde, probably sixteen, yes,' I said, nodding.

Tony rolled his eyes. 'She's not blonde, will you get over that?'

'Sixteen, still?'

'Okay, that's the reason we are _not _talking about this –'

'Oh, God,' I said, staring at him. 'She proposed to you and you killed her. Or did you _try _to kill her and fail, and now she's suing you? Oh, man, Tony, this is huge –' I suddenly stopped, feeling like a complete jerk. 'Sorry,' I mumbled. 'I got carried away.'

Tony shook his head. 'I can't stop thinking about her.'

'Whoa,' I said. Truth was, I _was _actually amazed. I switched back to Dr Max. 'How long has this been happening? The thinking-about-her part?'

'I just rang her up and talked to her and – she sounded different, yeah, I haven't seen her for sixteen years –'

'You haven't talked to her in sixteen years and you just rang her up, asking if she wanted to go to a party with you?'

'We knew each other a while back... and –'

'Were you guys, like, high-school buddies?'

'No... because I met her way after high-school.'

'Oh. What happened?' You may find this weird, but I was actually interested in hearing what Tony had to say about her.

'Well... she got mad and then I got mad and we just stopped talking to each other.'

'That's it.'

'Yup.'

'Over what?'

Tony hands clenched suddenly. 'Nothing,' he said, shrugging. I didn't believe _that _for a second, but some things you have to keep to yourself.

'Okay,' I said, shrugging. 'Well. When you rang her up, she wasn't mad anymore?'

'No. She came... and, yeah, apparently after sixteen years she wasn't mad at me.'

'Hm. And now you can't stop thinking about her. Do you think you might actually have feelings for her?'

Tony looked over at me and arched an eyebrow. 'That's not funny,' he said.

'I'm being serious. Dude, if she's not blonde and, well, not sixteen, maybe that's made you go crazy?' We didn't talk for a moment. I didn't feel like his daughter. I didn't think I ever would. I felt more like his friend, or a distant cousin that just came to stay in the house.

'What does she look like?' I asked.

Tony shook his head. 'Doesn't matter.'

I frowned. 'She _is _blonde!'

'No, she's not,' Tony said, and I couldn't help but feel proud of making the frustration in his voice. 'She has dark hair.'

'Wow,' I said, shifting back into sarcastic mode when I realised he couldn't really care less about making a point of this. 'That's a _real big change_. I mean, I thought she would've been... I don't know, a dark blonde? Light brown? Maybe red hair? But you shifted all the way to _dark_. Jeez, how'd you do it?'

'The same way you shifted from emotionless angel kids to clowns,' Tony said, rolling his eyes.

I scowled and suddenly realised where I'd inherited my sarcasm.

--

Okay, so where the hell was I now?

I looked down, saw I was sitting on a floor. There was a light shining down on me and, as I glanced around the room, I had a sudden idea of where I was.

I jumped to my feet and pressed myself up against a wall. 'You have got to be _kidding me, _Voice –'

_Maximum, I am not the one who is making this happen._

'Yeah, well, who is?' I mumbled, staring like a small frightened rabbit as I saw Jack Napier sitting at a table – the one I'd sat at when I'd been in these kinds of dreams last time – looking over a few pieces of paper.

I swallowed and tried to calm myself down. _Nothing _could be worse than the scars thing. That gave me some comfort, so I edged away from the wall, becoming more eager to know what he was looking at. Just to make sure I could be as loud as I wanted, I jumped up and down, waving my arms about. I made no sound on the floor. I stomped down, hard. Jack didn't look up.

This was kinda cool.

Just as I was wondering how I could use this stupid dream and awesome silent skills to my advantage, I heard the front door open. I turned around and saw the Joker walk through the door.

And my jaw dropped.

He was older than fifteen. He was probably only seventeen, but the difference over two years was astounding. I mean, he looked just _older_ somehow, and his hair was darker, and he was slightly less pale, though he still had dark half-circles under his –

His eyes. He looked... he looked so much worse in his eyes. They looked hollow, dark and dead, like they'd seen too much bullshit and had finally decided to leave. When he had been fifteen, they still looked kind of lively. But now... it was like how his eyes looked now. I'd never noticed it before, and I felt like a creep.

He was still wearing his ratty black trenchcoat, his shoulders hunched and his hands were in his pockets. It mustn't have been so cold out today, because he wasn't wearing a scarf – just a T-shirt and jeans. He stopped dead when he saw his father, who was grinning at him.

'Thought you got home later,' he said, looking blank.

'Hello to you too,' Jack said brightly and I shuddered. The Joker looked at the paper in Jack's hands. 'What's that?'

'Oh, nothing... just a few very detailed letters from a few teachers.' He shrugged nonchalantly but the Joker's eyes had widened. 'You're not supposed to read that,' he said.

Jack raised his eyebrows as if he had been told he wasn't allowed to smile anymore. 'Really?' he asked in a voice that was absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

The Joker winced. His eyes darted from Jack's face to the broken envelope on the table. He snatched it up, reading to who it was addressed. 'It's for Harley!' he said, throwing it back down on the table.

'When did you start calling your mother by her first name?' Jack asked interestedly.

Me? I was freaking out. Not so much as last time, but I could tell things were going to get a little brutal, as much as I didn't want to. It was something about the way Jack was looking – and something about the way the Joker was looking, like he knew how it was going to end but was going to do everything he could to prevent it.

'Mom,' he said quickly. 'I'm going upstairs –'

'No, you're not,' Jack said. It was creepy that he was unable to stop smiling – I mean, yes, it always had been, but you had the feeling that even if he _wasn't _stuck with a permanent grin, he'd still be smiling. He had complete control over this kid – and he knew it.

The Joker took a step back towards the door. Jack shook his head. 'You're not going anywhere, kiddo,' he said, standing up.

'I didn't do anything,' said the Joker, moving back towards the hallway that would lead him to the stairs.

'Of course not,' Jack said, as if he was completely at his son's aid, but he was advancing on him. It was scary that he had enough power over him – the Joker could've easily fought him off, but he wasn't going to. 'No. It's just someone else that's failing most of your grades. The last couple of fires in the science lad weren't you. The couple of guys in your class who talked to you last week –' He shook his head. 'Of course you didn't do anything.'

The Joker took a few steps back, walked into the wall and seemed to remember how familiar this was. He looked back at Jack. 'They're a couple of bastards who told me stop smiling,' he said, putting his hands up. As a last resort, he added quietly, 'I'm sure _anyone _else would've done the same – you would've –'

'Oh? The principal's son happened to be one of those kids. I can't help but doubt it, kiddo...'

The Joker opened his mouth, closed it, shook his head wordlessly and moved around the corner, disappearing into the hallway. Jack laughed darkly and followed him. I stood where I was, torn between needing to know what was going on and wanting to run out of the house until this was over.

'Don't even _try _running –' There was a sudden _thud _as someone hit the ground. I jumped, and heard more noises: it sounded like one was kicking the other. Really, really _hard_. Then there was the sound of someone spitting something out and trying to breathe, then more kicking noises.

I realised I was running across the room into the hallway and I stopped dead in my tracks, eyes and mouth wide open. Every cell in my body screamed for me to run, but I couldn't – it was like I frozen to watch it.

The Joker was on his knees, looking rather fazed. There was blood around his mouth and on the floor, and he was leaning over his stomach as if trying to protect something –

Jack was standing above him and suddenly his foot connected with the Joker's stomach. He fell onto his side, sprawled at the bottom of the staircase. His eyes held some kind of emotion: fear.

I suddenly wanted to kill Jack, more than anything in the world. He had destroyed this kid's life. 'Stop it,' I said, sounding hysterical. 'Stop it, stop it, _stop it!_'

'Do you know why I _send you to that school_?' Jack roared, kicking his son again, who spat out more blood onto the staircase, choking briefly then gasping. '_Huh_?' Jack continued and the Joker shook his head frantically. 'Because that _principle_ happened to be one of _my _father's good friends so me and your _mom _thought maybe you could get a good education there, hm? For _once_ in your _fricking life _could you _possibly consider _something _before _you do it? Hm?' He'd kicked his son on every word he'd emphasised. The Joker swallowed, trying to climb up the staircase backwards. 'Could you?' he managed, spitting out more blood.

Jack froze. '_What _was that, kiddo?'

'Did you have a bad day or something? Is Harley allowing you anything more than a hug now, or is she still pissed off at you for breaking my arm four months ago?' the Joker asked, sounding untroubled. I put my hand over my mouth; at the remark or at the fact his arm had been broken I didn't know. Maybe both. 'There's always _something _wrong when you do this. But, hey, here's an idea: maybe you should _stop, _and _then _Harley might not sleep on the couch. Then again, she'll probably be over it today. It only took her five to get over these.' He indicated his scars.

Jack looked like he was going to make sure his son broke a lot more than his arm this time. 'You did not just say that –' he began when the Joker kicked him hard in the chest, making him fall back. The Joker was suddenly on his feet, running up the stairs. I jumped over Jack, following him until I slipped through the door a second before he slammed it and locked it.

He leaned against it, breathing hard and wiped some blood from his mouth. Or more, he wiped it across his face.

I gulped. The Joker glanced around the room and caught sight of himself in a dusty, square mirror on the other side of the room. He had blood trailing over one of his scars and slowly spanned out blood on the other one. It looked like the 'smile' make-up he wore and I couldn't help but gasp.

There was a sudden bang against his door that I couldn't help but guess was Jack. The Joker leaned up against the door, jolting as it was banged against again. 'You _did not _just lock this door, did you?! Open it!'

The Joker rolled his eyes.

'Listen kiddo,' Jack growled through the door. 'I am your father and I'm _ordering you to open this door_.' He shouted out some more things and the Joker simply stood there. I wondered if the door was going to break and prayed not.

'Y'know what?' Jack asked, sounding calmer – not that I believed it. 'If you open this door right now, I'll forget the whole thing. Okay? Open the door. I'm not gonna hurt you if you _just open this frigging door_ –'

The Joker laughed and I shivered. It was that wheezy choking kind of sound and Jack suddenly stopped shaking the door.

'First of all, go to _hell_,' said the Joker, looking incredibly calm. 'And second of all, if you even thought I'd let you in here, you're, uh, well, you're just insane.'

The door suddenly banged so roughly I thought it would go off its hinges. 'You little son of a bitch!' Jack roared and there was the noise of the front door opening.

'Mr J?' Harley's voice called. She indeed sounded happy. 'Mr J, I'm home!'

The Joker sighed in relief and Jack hissed through the door, 'Hey, don't get your hopes up. Your mom's not gonna be here the whole night, kiddo – she's going back out in an hour.'

The Joker tensed. Jack somehow realised this because he laughed. 'See ya then.'

And I heard his footsteps travel away from the door and Harley scream with joy when she saw him.

The Joker picked up a bag off the floor, opened his closet and grabbed a few pairs of jeans and a shirt. He chucked them in the bag and a black box that jingled (money box, I'm guessing). He moved around his room, picked up a deck of cards and threw them into the bag, found a wallet and in that went too.

He was leaving. This was how he left. I wondered if he ever intended to come back to Gotham city. He probably didn't.

I reached out and tried to touch his arm but something was there – an inch force field of pressure that wasn't allowing me any closer. I realised – memory. Wasn't allowed to interfere.

He still stopped and lifted his head then looked around his room, frowning. 'Hello?' he asked, arching one eyebrow.

'Hi,' I said, sighing. He didn't notice anything, though he still glanced warily at his arm and went back to looking for things that were important.

'I wish I could've known you now. Maybe I could've helped... and you just so happen to look really good,' I said awkwardly, sitting down on his bed. I couldn't help that last part, it slipped out.

He wiped his hand across his mouth and licked his lips. He looked over at his drawer then ripped open one, taking out a wicked-looking blade. He nodded, and threw it in. He found a few more knives in his drawer and put them with the first one.

Then he stood up, leaned over his bed and opened his window, jumping out and grabbing onto a tree branch then shifting onto another one then falling to the ground. I followed him, being the squirrely climber I am, out through the front yard and onto the sidewalk.

And, after one more look at his house, he ran down the street. I wanted to follow him, to know just how he left Gotham.

--

Then I woke up.

Oh, great. I endured watching abuse, and I can't see the lighter side of the story. I sat up in my bed, rubbing my eyes. 'Oh, come _on_,' I murmured to myself. 'That sucked.'

'Aw, gee, that hurt, cause I _think_ I heard my name mentioned,' said someone from the other side of the room. I looked over and my jaw dropped. The Joker glanced at me and rolled his eyes. 'I've done this before, why do you look so surprised?' he asked, sounding bored.

--

**CLIFFY! Yes, I know, I cut off the chapter at the exact same point I cut off in the OTHER chapter where the Joker did this, but I just need to get off the computer for a second and I think I need to end this chapter. :)**

**I hope you guys liked it... well, not the abusive part, I meant like Tony's "Feelings Time". Or something. **

**Hope you did anyway! Thanks! **

**Please review.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

'I wasn't – um,' I tried, kinda flustered by this totally _not-cool _unexpected visit. I know I said I wanted to see him... but now? 'I wasn't expecting you.'

'I know. That was the fun part,' he said, arching an eyebrow. He was sitting right next to my bathroom door, his arms crossed over his chest.

I sat up in my bed and looked at my clock. It was only 9:36. I looked over at the Joker. 'The flock are probably still –'

'When'd you fall asleep?' he cut me off.

'I dunno. Two hours ago?'

'They left a-little-after-that ago. Went out somewhere... probably didn't want to wake you up.'

I stared at him. 'So you've been here that entire time?'

The Joker rolled his eyes. 'Uh, _yeah_, what does it look like?'

'Well, if they've been gone, why didn't you wake me up when you came in?' I asked, crossing my arms and looking annoyed. I'd been dreaming about him three seconds ago, then I wake up and _voila_!

The Joker uncrossed his arms and looked around as if someone might be watching (which, I'm sure, he knew there wasn't). Then he leaned forward and said in a very audible whisper, 'Because you say some hilariously embarrassing things when you're asleep.'

I blushed and looked at my feet. 'Yeah, like what?' I demanded, trying to sound like I didn't care – while in secret I was just wondering what I might have said that was embarrassing. I couldn't _think _of anything and –

My eyes suddenly narrowed and my head snapped up. 'Wait, am I still dreaming?'

The Joker arched both his eyebrows, looking interested. 'Wellll, uh, why would this be a dream?' he asked casually.

I shook my head, wishing I'd said nothing. 'No reason.'

'Oh _yeah _there is. I just wanna know _what _it is.'

'Get lost,' I snapped.

He looked triumphant. 'And that means we're getting somewhere.' He leaned forwards again. 'C'mon, tell me.'

'There's no reason,' I argued, rolling my eyes.

'You're bluh-shing,' he sang. 'And you're lying,' he added, standing up.

'No, I'm not,' I said flatly.

'Of course not,' the Joker said, sitting on the end of my bed. I suddenly remembered Jack had said those same words to him and shivered. The Joker noticed that and turned his head, giving me a sideways stare.

'What?' I asked.

'Oh, nothing. Just the fact you look like a deer in the headlights.'

_Everyone uses that expression for a scared look. _

_Well, why not, it's a very well-known expression, _the Voice said.

_Go away._

'Oh. Sorry.'

'Uh... that's not really anything _to be _sorry about, but okay. You can tell me about your dream and I'll be fine with it.'

I glared at him. 'I did _not _dream about you!' I wasn't entirely sure why I wasn't telling him. Well, actually, _one_, because he'd probably get angry if I told him about his scars and how he ran away, and _two_, because he'd never let me live it down if I told him.

'Okay, fine,' he said, lifting his hands up. 'You, uh, did _not _dream about me.' I looked at my feet and suddenly realised he was still staring at me, looking incredibly amused. 'What?' I asked warily.

'I didn't finish what I was going to say. You did not dream about me – _tonight_.'

I groaned and put my head in my hands.

'No, come on. What else have you got? In fact, I wanna know why you still thought you were dreaming.'

'Will you leave me alone?' I growled.

'Oh, God, no. Why would I do that? Be _reasonable_. Come on,' he insisted, leaning in so much closer than I felt comfortable with. My heart pounded in my ears. 'Tell me.'

I moved myself forwards so I slipped off the bed and landed on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest. 'It was _nothing_,' I said innocently, gazing at my hands as if I was studying them. Comfort feeling: higher.

He slid off my bed too. 'I'll get back to that _later_ then, okay?' He sounded like he was smirking and I pretended not to notice. Instead, I casually asked, 'What embarrassing things did I say when I was asleep?'

'So we're back on your dream that didn't have me in it,' the Joker said, sounding like he was just clearing things up with me. I looked over at him and frowned. He nodded. 'Okay,' he said brightly, clapping his hands together. 'Well, you told someone that you wished you could have met them and that, uh, _maybe _you could've helped them...'

'And what makes you think that was you?' I asked, arching an eyebrow in triumph.

'Well, because you just so happened to also add something about them looking _really _good –'

'That still doesn't mean it's you,' I blurted. The Joker smirked again. 'Well, I'll think that over. I mean, even if it _wasn't _me, it's still embarrassing for you.' He was silent for a moment then asked, 'So. Who was it?'

I looked over at him. 'You jealous again?'

'Depends on who it – _no_.'

I smirked at him this time and said, 'Well, you can keep up your guessing. Just tell me when you feel _really _angry.'

'Do _not _tell me it was Emo Boy.'

'If by "Emo Boy" you mean _Fang, _no,' I snapped.

'Oh, yeah, because you've met him. But you probably want to help him, because you want to help everyone with their non-existing problems. Isn't that right? Doubt it was any of the other wing-ed kiddies, probably not Tony, because, uh, that's kinda gross. Huh. I don't know any more people except my family. Was it someone I don't know?'

I stared at him. 'Why did you have to go ahead and actually _try _to work it out?'

'Oh, hey, you could just _tell me_.' He licked his lips and shrugged.

'Oh, my God,' I muttered, rubbing my temples. 'You know what? _Fine_, it was about you. It was about you when you were _seventeen_, and you came home one day and your dad started beating you up, and then you fought back – you kicked him in the chest, ran up to your room and left home.' I glared at him. He was expressionless – torn between what to do: get mad or make a joke out of it. 'Oh, and even more big fun, I had a dream about how you got your _freaking scars!_ And –' My words were cut off as he clamped a hand over my mouth. I stopped talking and felt scared. What was he going to do?

'Don't _ever _talk about it.' He was brushing it off as lightly as he could – I honestly could not believe how lucky I seriously was.

Still, my mouth didn't stop.

'Why not?' I snapped, pulling his hand off. 'You talk about it all the time. You like twisting around the versions, if I so recall –'

'Oh, yeah. Sorry, forgot you were the one who went _through with it. _So, forgive me for twisting them around all the time if it annoys you.'

I froze. I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again and closed it again.

'Great,' the Joker said, sounding calmer. 'Now we're off _that _subject – why did you think you were dreaming when you woke up?'

I felt like the world's biggest jerk, so I decided to tell him the real answer. 'Um,' I said, looking at my feet and avoiding any kind of eye contact with him, 'I. A couple of nights ago. Um.'

'Say_ iiitttt_...'

'I had a dream you were in my room, and then you told me I was dreaming about you and you were pretty much doing what you're doing now: coaxing me into admitting stuff that's... um.' I clammed up and stared wide-eyed at my feet, feeling incredibly warm.

'Well, you certainly mapped my character down,' the Joker said, and I jolted when I realised just how close he had gotten. I glanced over and saw he was right next to me. I could hear my heart moving very, very, _very fast. _Oh, man. This was nerve-racking. I didn't know if my breathing was shallow or deep or even in-between – I just knew it was loud.

'You're blushing. Again.'

Oh, God. I needed to find some way out of this. 'D'you think the flock might be getting home, er, soon?' I asked, trying to be casual.

'Why do you _always _try to get me out of your house?'

'I'm not,' I argued, completely lying. But he was right: whenever he was here, I wanted him to go, and whenever he wasn't I wished he was. This sudden realisation must've done something to my face, because he was suddenly as close as could be without touching me and said, 'You're thinking about it.' I jumped as though I'd received a large electric shock and climbed to my feet, rolling back onto my bed, back up against my wall.

'Why do you always _do _that?' I asked, breathing – in a weird way.

He stared at me. 'What?' he asked, completely blank.

'You always have to... freak me out by leaning in really close.'

'That freaks you out?' he asked, interestedly. I mentally cursed my mouth and shook my head. 'No. I just misspoke.'

_Ha_! Saved myself _there_!

'I don't think you let yourself misspeak – you either lie or tell the truth,' he said amusedly, standing up over me. I felt glad he wasn't sitting next to me.

'So, how'd, um, how'd you get out of Gotham?'

'All right, now – don't tell anybody this, but... I flew on the back of a humpback whale to the Land of Cookies.' He rolled his eyes. 'How d'you think?' he asked irritably. 'I took a train.'

'Oh,' I said, nodding. 'Where'd you go?'

'Lots of places,' he said as an answer and asked, 'Does it _really _freak you out when I do that?'

'No,' I said unconvincingly, shaking my head and staring at the interesting hole in my jean leg. But of course me saying something wasn't enough. He placed both hands on my wall, both slightly above my eye level. I swallowed, then looked up at him daringly only to see he had already leaned in far enough to freak me out. I took a mentally deep breath. What was there really to worry about? No one was here. Why was I so freaked out of this? I felt suddenly fine and let the feeling pour through me.

I glared at him, looking tough. 'See?' I asked, smiling, sounding just like Brave Ol' Max. 'Not afraid.'

He laughed evilly and my stomach dropped like _that_. I stopped smiling. 'What?' I asked warily, bravery wavering slightly.

He smirked. 'Not afraid _yet_,' he corrected.

'_What_?' I asked again, confused then suddenly his left hand was on my right shoulder and then, before I knew it, I was lying on my back with my eyes closed and I was kissing him.

Again. For, like, the hundredth time.

But did that stop me from blushing or feeling like a complete idiot because I didn't know if I was – okay, thinking way too much, need to calm down – but what if –?

'You're actually thinking of something else right now, aren't you?' the Joker asked, rolling his eyes at me.

'Um. No?'

'Uh-huh... _you_ think _way _too much.'

'I do not!'

He rolled his eyes and tapped my head. I scowled at him. 'Yes you do.'

'I – oh, and you _don't_? Seriously, you've gotta be some kind of mastermind: you do these little random things all over the place which no one really understands and then suddenly they all burst into one gigantic big picture! So either you've got luck on your side, or you're a thinker.'

The Joker smirked and licked his lips. I swallowed hard. 'I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or, uh, _not_.'

I blushed, avoided his gaze as much as I could and blurted, 'You shouldn't.'

'Also, yeah, after hearing that sentence come out of your mouth, you _do _think way too much.' Then suddenly I was breathing through my nose again as he kissed me again, making my cheeks turn even redder, if possible. I let my mind flow and just went with it.

--

And did I wake up at about three in the morning. I felt sort of like someone had hung me above the city all night and somehow I had absorbed what everyone in Gotham had done in the last five minutes, so now I'd done what absolutely everyone had done at the same time. In other words, I felt pretty exhausted.

I was staring at my bathroom door, on the edge of my bed, leaning on my left side. I suddenly remembered how the Joker had a tendency to not leave my room – like, ever – and sat up, looking around.

But he was gone.

Was I relieved? Yes. Was I also disappointed? Also yes.

I frowned. What the heck was happening with me? I rubbed the back of my head, completely unsure of what had just happened.

--

Harley glared angrily across at ter Borcht, who had _dared _showed up again after the last time. She swallowed angrily. 'Good evening, sir,' she said tightly to him. She had not forgotten he had tried to kill her son.

And yet she had forgotten all the times Jack had.

'Good evening, madam,' said ter Borcht, in his smooth German accent. 'I have brought Mister Batchelder with me. We are here to see Mister Napier...?' Every syllable he uttered made her glare harder, yet he seemed untroubled. 'Yes, he's in the next room,' she managed.

'Good,' said ter Borcht, who motioned for Batchelder to follow him. They walked into the next room and shut the door.

Harley couldn't help but glare at the door. She heard muffled voices talking inside it. Ugh, what could they be planning?

--

**Dun, dun, dun! Incredibly lame chapter, and I'm so sorry for it taking so long, seeing as how, um, nothing's really in it... I just tried to write a bunch of chapters at one time, hated most of them, deleted a bunch, wrote more, got confused, and kinda went back to this chapter and thought, 'Screw it.' **

**Gasp, I saw an ad for **_**The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus **_**(new Heath Ledger movie) and am officially obsessed. **


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

Was I completely mortified when Fang told me that Kyra was a brilliant girlfriend? Being the good friend, I fell off my chair, clasped my hands over my ears and yelled 'WHAT HORROR IS THIS? IT BURNS!!!' for a good ten minutes before Tony warned me to shut up or he'd ban me from flying for a month.

Not like that'd do anything to stop me, but my throat was getting sore, so I simply stopped to get a glass of orange juice. Iggy howled with laughter and actually fell off his chair. Fang, who I expected to be Mr Rock or at least pissed off at me, tried not to grin.

Grinning Fang? Jeez, Kyra _is _making him happy.

I choked on my OJ in sudden realisation. Fang was happy. How rare was that? Like, once in a billion years? And what was I doing to stop my best bud from being happy? Um, the answer you're looking for is probably: everything. I was always irritated whenever the subject of Kyra was brought up, but if Fang was actually having a good time...

I frowned. We'd been going out last year. Fang had smiled and laughed maybe a handful of times. When he mentioned Kyra's name, it was like she was the goddess of Goth. This was _perfect _for Fang!

I felt slightly jealous. He had a cool Goth girl who didn't spend most of her time trying to embarrass him or just show how great she was.

I realised I was smiling and Gazzy said, 'Hey, Max, what're you thinking about?'

'Hm?' I asked, hastily looking away. 'Nothing.'

'You look, um, really...' Gazzy began.

'Happy and radiating with light,' Nudge said, who was _yet again _watching The Sacred Movie, Retelling Shakespeare in a High School. Yep, she loved it so much we all knew she would start quoting slang from the nineties. And that would start up Gazzy actually doing it _in _the voices. And that would be _sooo _much fun...

'Uh, thanks,' I said, wondering what that meant in terms of Max.

'The question isn't _what _she's thinking about, it's _who's _she thinking about,' Iggy said irritably.

I threw a small deck of Post-It notes at him.

'Ow!' he snapped.

'You could've stopped it,' I snapped back, trying not to laugh.

'Blind!' he reminded me angrily, snapping his fingers. 'Don't go there, girlfriend!'

--

'So, you're Tony Stark's daughter, right?'

I looked up at the boy smiling down at me. I glanced around me; flock still in view. We'd gone to the mall, just to hang out. It was too wet in the park; it'd been raining the whole day.

I was sitting at an inside café, reading something called _Chocolate Therapy _(and boy was I hungry now), keeping an eye on the flock as they all walked around the main part of the mall.

Only I couldn't really _read _the book; not just because I'm not the best reader, but because _someone _wouldn't leave my mind alone! I'd be in the middle of a sentence and just completely drift off! I couldn't get him off my mind.

Anyway, back to the boy. Did not look like possible Eraser, but looked _waaay _too interested in talking with me (yeah, I know, weird).

'Maxine Stark, right?'

Could people _get _my name any more mixed up?!

'Max Ride,' I told him, narrowing my eyes.

He held out his hand, obviously thinking that since I talked to him he was brilliant. 'Jerry Dawson,' he said, shaking my hand. 'My dad knows yours.'

'Oh.' So now we were bosom companions. He had large green eyes and thick, sandy hair.

'Cool. Well, I was wondering if you'd like to catch a film tomorrow night.'

'Excuse me?' I said drily.

Jerry smiled. 'Well, not really a film. It's just, my dad's having this whole meeting thing, and your dad's invited, and, well, you're coming and I was wondering if you just wanted to skip it and... Well...'

Okay, I will admit it; I'd known about this thing. I had not known about Jerry Dawson asking me on a date. I didn't feel flattered or anything. In fact, I felt downright annoyed. I mean, I've been seen with a Mystery Stranger... last year. Okay, this was annoying. Break it to him. _I don't want to go out with you._

'Well, I don't know...' I said, sounding mucho regretful.

'I do,' said Jerry. I need to kill him. 'Surely you don't want to sit around with all those guys!'

Sitting around with Tony would be a lot more fun than with you. He's got a _really _good sense of humour at the worst of times.

'I might just stay back home,' I told him, shrugging.

He shook his head. 'Nope, you're coming,' he said. 'I'll see you tomorrow night, eight.'

And he left.

_What _just happened?

_Someone asked you out on a date, _said the Voice.

What is this, Asshole Day?!

--

'Wait, so you're dating _how _many guys right now?' Fang smirked.

I frowned at him. 'It's not a date.' _For me, at least._

'Uh-huh. Just he's your age, and you're going to the movies, to have lots of fun and then kiss.'

'There will _be no kissing_. He's all right, but I'd rather hang out with you guys.'

'Considering you hang out with us every day of your life, um, that's meaning something.'

I glared at Fang and he smiled. 'Relax. I know you're dating –'

'_NOT DATING_. Dating is where you go out somewhere for dinner, or a movie, _with _the person you like. Speaking of which, how's Kyra?'

'Good. We hung out at the mall, bought food.'

'Right. _That's _what you do.' I pulled on my hoodie. 'Jeez, I wish I didn't have wings.'

'Are you kidding?' asked Fang.

'Um. No?'

'Max, if you were a _normal _kid, you'd probably be dreaming about flying with a bunch of other kids and going out with a clown.'

'For the love of God, Fang! Will you drop that?!'

'Yeah, but,' said Fang, trying not to laugh at my angry expression, 'I'm just saying. Tony would still be your dad, but you'd probably have incredibly girly friends, or be bitchy. You wouldn't be _Max_. You might not have been _called _Max.'

I stared at him. 'You've been watching Dr Phil, haven't you?'

'Max?' Tony opened the door. 'Why the hell are you going out with Jerry Dawson?'

'Not going out!' I snapped. 'He just – at the mall –'

'Asked you out and you said yes?'

'I said everything _but_!' I was getting seriously annoyed now. 'I never _wanted _to go out with him; he just took everything as though I was madly in love with him.'

'Guys like him think like that,' Tony said, shrugging. 'Next time, tell him you're going out with someone else, or no.'

I rolled my eyes and fell back on my bed. 'How about I just don't go?'

'Because that'll kill me,' Tony said, pulling me back up and walking out of my room with me. Fang snickered and I held back on punching him.

--

Jerry smiled at me. 'So, how're you?'

Since you last saw me and sealed my doom? 'Uh, I'm all right.'

'Cool.' We were waiting in line for movie tickets. I had no idea _what _we were going to see and didn't really care either. I looked over at Jerry, who was practically shining with pride. _I took out Tony Stark's daughter, go me!_

Gee, I wanted to _kill him_.

'What're our dads talking about?' I asked warily.

'Some business deal, I think,' said Jerry easily. _Break his nose._

Someone else invaded my mind momentarily and I shook my head.

'What is it?' asked Jerry.

'Um, there's a fly bothering me,' I said, waving my hand around. 'I think it's gone.'

'Oh, okay.' And then, as we were waiting in that line for the next five minutes, it was all One Thousand Brilliant Deeds by Jerry Dawson. I was so relieved when we hit the cinemas and had to quit talking (or Jerry had to).

But of frigging course, I couldn't concentrate on the movie. Cause as soon as I started to get into it, my mind slipped off to think about – _someone_. I was completely annoyed that this was invading my thoughts.

So that by the time we walked out of the movie, and went to get food, it was well past ten-thirty and I was pretty mad.

Jerry, resuming his great deeds talk, noticed nothing. He ordered something expensive whereas I ordered a soda. I was so not hungry.

But thankfully Jerry's belief I was interested in everything he had to say made sure he didn't bother me when I was actually thinking about _so _many other things. Sometimes he'd look at me expectantly and I'd say, 'Interesting' or 'Bravo' and he'd resume talking at full speed. It was like Nudge on caffeine, with a whirlpool and an incredibly boring ruler thrown in. Of course, at one point he actually asked me a question:

'So, what'd you think of the movie?'

I stared at him. 'I liked the part when the shrink fell out the window and landed on that Dawson kid, saving his mucho angry "date".'

'Yeah, that was good wasn't it?' Jerry said eagerly and I rolled my eyes. He continued on about whatever the hell, and I sat there and drank the rest of my soda.

It was about ten past eleven when I thankfully got to use the words 'My dad wants me home by eleven thirty.'

Jerry nodded, paid for his food (I paid for my soda with dignity, holding my head high and saying to the woman, 'Excuse me, I'll pay for my own soda.' Oh, yep. I'm a winner) and we finally exited the mall. I prayed he would _never _ask me out again. If he did, I was breaking all his teeth.

The sky was black and the parking lot still quite full, Gotham's night not over yet. People could be heard everywhere, sirens, dogs barking, insanity. The streetlights were shining brightly, casting a nice yellow glow against the moonless, starless stretch of black.

Jerry chattered on, clearly not noticing anything (_ditch the jerk, he won't notice_) and then I was thinking about something else and getting mad all over again. My hands clenched and my teeth gritted.

_I hate this. This is unfair_.

I stopped suddenly, loving the freezing night air and looked up at the sky. This may sound weird, but just the streetlights glowing against it looked like they were radiating warmth. I closed my eyes and couldn't help it; I _really _wished the Joker was here.

_Wait, that wasn't it_, said a small rational part of my mind. _I REALLY want to go flying. That's it. Yep, flying is all I need..._

Jerry had gone silent. I had my eyes still closed and felt pretty calm now, come to think of it. In twenty minutes, I'd be home, telling the flock about Mega-Jerk and laughing with them at the horror of this thing people call 'dates' (they should be called torture – who needs knives and guns? Just find an annoying jerk). Then, quite suddenly, someone kissed me.

White flashed across my closed eyelids and I shoved Jerry as hard as I could. He landed hard on the concrete, looking up at me in surprise.

'Ow! What the hell?' he snapped. 'These are new jeans!'

'You freak!' I yelled at him; this wasn't funny anymore. I felt completely insecure right now. 'Don't _ever touch me_, _EVER_!'

'What –?' He shook his head and stood up. My hands curled into fists. 'Max, seriously, you just –'

'– got pulled into going somewhere with someone I can't _stand _the slightest!' I snarled. 'I never _wanted _to go and if you try to kiss me, I swear to God, I will rip your arms off!' I wiped my mouth; oh, HOLY –!!!

He stared at me, angry. Oh, _he _should be so mad! It's his fault! 'I'll get my father –'

'Tony and Whatshisname Dawson are _not _involved in this; it's your problem and, in extreme circumstances, _mine_! So if you want to get your ass kicked by a skinny girl from Colorado, be my guest!'

He stared at me, completely freaked out. He backed away and I had a sudden, fleeting horror (_that white flash, was that anger or a camera?_). He said, 'Fine. I'm sorry I ever bothered you.' He sounds like it's my fault, damn Max. He turned and ran away, hanging his head.

And I didn't feel the _slightest _bit sorry for him. My only problem was anyone who saw that. The flash happened just as we kissed – oh, God, if that's in the news tomorrow –

I kicked a streetlight so hard it dented. Feeling like my toes were broken, I ran to the darkness, opened my wings and flew off, trying not to cry.

--

_Where the hell was he?_

It was fuzzy for a second, then he snapped fully alert. He closed his eyes almost immediately and tried to gather from that small snippet of image he'd seen where he was. The room was completely white and shining brightly (ow, ow, ow) and he was sitting at a table. There was a figure in the room, but he was already trying to squint. The last thing he remembered was that he'd been asleep for what felt like two minutes, woken up unable to breathe, sunk back into unconsciousness and was now, if he could feel his left wrist correctly, hand-cuffed to a chair.

--

Jeb stared at the Joker, who had woken up a moment ago. He was surprised to see how quickly he'd changed from groggy to alert in a second. He was paranoid; it didn't take much to see that... but he had a way of making you forget it.

'Oh, God, what is this?' the Joker said, sounding pained, holding his right hand over his eyes. 'It's like an angel exploded in the middle of the room.' Jeb saw him arch an eyebrow. 'An angel that liked chemically, alcohol-swab smells.'

'Never mind,' said Jeb, sitting down at the table. The Joker took away his hand, looked at Jeb and rolled his eyes. 'We meet again, Mister Whoever You Are.'

'You know perfectly who I am,' Jeb said easily. 'And I know I was incredibly harsh last time.'

'Did you realise that when you were pointing a gun at my head, or when I was shot?' the Joker asked innocently, tilting his head to one side.

Jeb ignored that. 'Listen, I'm sorry, but Max is very important to me –'

'– and I'm ruining her skills, da, da, da, da, world saving, et cetera.'

'_That_.' Jeb looked at the man wearing greasepaint and a smeared smile. 'You're not on good terms with your father, are you?' he asked just as innocently.

He felt better when he saw the other man's face twitch.

'Okay, well,' Jeb continued. 'I didn't want to have to show you this, but do you know where Max's been the last few days?'

'Seeing as how you know everything, do I really need to answer that?'

'Yes,' said Jeb. The Joker blinked.

'Wow. You caught me out there. Well, I'm done, just get these handcuffs off and I'll leave. Anytime now...'

'The correct answer would be _no_. These are a few photos from last night.' Jeb pushed a stack of five photos towards the Joker, spreading them out across the table. The Joker looked down at them and licked his lips. Jeb waited patiently.

The Joker smirked and looked back up at him. 'Wow, you have a few photos of Max with a loser. She doesn't even look like she's enjoying herself.'

'These two were taken in the parking lot,' Jeb said, handing the two photos he'd kept in his coat. He couldn't wait to see the man's reaction.

The first photo was off the boy talking and Maximum behind him, looking up at the sky and smiling. The second was of –

He smiled as he saw the Joker stare at the second photo of Max and the boy kissing. His eyes widened as what was happening in the picture suddenly got through – he hadn't believed it for a few seconds. He blinked a few times and Jeb saw his jaw clench as if he was biting down hard on something. His breathing became louder and shallower and Jeb said, 'Are you all right?'

The Joker glared at Jeb, so fiercely that he was afraid for a moment. 'Fine,' he snarled and Jeb smiled. 'Wanted to be sure,' he said. 'Anyway, I'm incredibly sorry about this inconvenience... Max, well, she –'

'Who is he?'

'Who?' Jeb asked, frowning.

'_Him_.'

'Oh. Jerry Dawson or something. Friend of the family.'

The Joker stared at the photo and nodded tensely.

'But I'm sure you want to go now,' Jeb said, 'I'm sorry for keeping you here so long.' _He's gone_, he remarked happily to himself. _Out of the picture_.

The Joker looked up at him. 'How do I get out of here?'

Jeb smiled and took out a needle with clear liquid in it. The Joker looked at it and tried to move his chair back – it didn't move.

--

'I'm going to kill him,' Tony said through gritted teeth.

'No, you're not. I am,' I told him. I'd calmed down about it – it'd been two days. 'Tony, seriously, you don't have to –'

'Slowly and painfully.' He looked over at me. 'I never should've made you go on that. _God_, I am going to _kill him –'_

Trying to change the subject, I said, 'How's that girl?'

Tony stared at me. 'I, uh, I rang her,' he said, becoming instantly uncomfortable.

'Great!' I said enthusiastically – anything to get his mind off Jerry. 'What'd she say? What'd _you _say?'

'I asked her if she wanted to... well.' He looked over at me sharply. 'You're enjoying this, aren't you?'

'A lot,' I said, smiling.

'Well, I'm still going to kill him,' Tony said flatly and I gave up. 'You _don't _need to,' I said irritably. 'Stop going on about this, you're just making yourself angry.'

'How are you _not _breaking his arms right now?'

'Because I _let it go_.' I stood up, rolled my eyes and said, 'You're the only person in this entire community who _cares _the slightest, Tony.'

Thankfully, Jerry's "date" had not made it into the papers or the six o'clock news. So no one had actually seen it and therefore I wasn't going to die of embarrassment or some kind of guilt.

_Guilt?_

I frowned as my head began to pound. Was it my fault he'd kissed me? I swallowed. I certainly hadn't kissed him, I'd tried to kill him, but I should've said something like, 'Well, I'm dating someone else...'

That sounded a lot less geeky in my mind.

Tony's voice flitted back into my mind.

'Max, you've been standing there for five minutes. _What _the hell?'

'Nothing,' I said quickly. 'I think I might, um, I don't know...' I shook my head, swayed pretty suddenly and nearly fell over. Tony jumped up and grabbed me. 'You feeling okay?' he asked, concerned (it briefly and painfully reminded me of Jeb).

'Yeah, I'm fine,' I said, surprised by the sudden guilt flow. It was like my small guilt river had stretched to become as vast and deep as an ocean.

Why did I feel so crappy? I hadn't done anything wrong, I'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, right? I _felt _nothing, I knew that. So why did I feel so _stupid?_

'Maybe you should stay home tonight,' Tony said slowly.

I looked up at him. 'What?' I asked. The flock was going out to a Chinese restaurant tonight; not that I really liked that kind of food, but I'd come. 'But – come on, I never go with you, _anywhere_. I mean, I always find some reason to stay home, and I always feel completely crappy about it afterwards –'

'_Find_?' Tony asked, arching an eyebrow. I blinked. That was the look I'd given Gazzy two years ago, when he admitted to making explosives in his room when I'd told him not to. I felt incredibly uneasy all of a sudden, and felt a surge of pity for the Gasman if this was what he had to go through.

Tony blinked at my facial expression (didn't know what it was, felt completely mixed up) and said, 'Hey, I was kidding, don't worry. Do you feel okay?'

I nodded vigorously and nearly fell over again; _what was up with me_?

'You're staying home,' Tony said, helping me stand up again. I protested for the next thirty seconds then fell silent when he just walked out of the room.

Did I feel pathetic? Yes.

Did I also feel really sick? Also yes.

So somehow I decided it was for the better and lay down for a while. When I woke up, the flock and Tony had gone. I was alone in the house – _again _– and I felt much better.

What a brilliant waste of time, I thought joyously.

I walked out into the living room. No way in hell was I missing the next one of these things! I looked at the scattered DVDs on the floor and realised the DVD player was still on. I found the remote, switched on the TV and stared at what Nudge (I knew it was Nudge) had left running in the DVD player.

The High School Shakespeare Movie.

Which I was completely fine with watching.

I sat down on the floor, cross-legged, letting all my thoughts go and just concentrating on the movie. I will admit – I laughed quite a bit. I hadn't laughed for a while.

I heard the door open and looked at the clock. It was eight-thirty. The flock would be longer, right? Then again, I hadn't known when they went out.

That's when I realised there was only one set of footsteps. I froze, staring at the screen but only seeing blurred figures. A song flitted into the atmosphere – probably at the wrong time.

The Joker walked into the living room. I looked at him for a second and saw he looked incredibly pissed off. I looked at the singing dancing look-alike on the screen and had no trouble deciding where I'd rather be.

I jumped over the couch and curled my hands into fists, staring at him. He looked downright scary – because you could tell he was angry – there was something really familiar in the way he was looking at me, but I hadn't seen it on him before, I think – but he was acting completely calm. That was the problem.

Then another problem occurred: _could I punch him without feeling horrible?_

I realised I was completely screwed when the answer was _nope_.

The Joker smirked at me. His eyes still held that anger tinge. 'How're you going, Max?' he asked, looking at me expectantly.

I did the first thing I could think of – I ran into the closet door and locked it. It happened to be the spare room.

_Oh, God –_

I ran to the large windows and tried to think of some way for them to open. 'Jarvis,' I whispered hastily. 'Can you _please _open the windows this time? Serious emergency.'

The machine didn't answer.

'Jarvis?' I asked, trying to ignore the fact that someone was quite easily unlocking the door. 'Um, anytime now –'

No answer.

What was happening?

The door rattled and I realised what an idiot I was – he'd disconnected Jarvis. Okay. I was dead.

The door opened and I turned around, pressing myself up against the window. Like that would save me.

The Joker smirked. 'Having fun?'

'What's wrong with you?' I asked, swallowing hard. I was trying not to hyperventilate. _Calm down!_

'Me?' He frowned. 'Nothing's wrong with _me_.'

I took a sideways step along the wall as he stepped towards me. The fact everything was dark made it worse. Now I _was _nearly hyperventilating. 'Please go,' I said, narrowing my eyes, stepping into the corner.

The moon shining in through the windows was the only reason I could see his face. Next thing I knew, he was standing right in front of me. I took a deep breath – _help me, God_ – and punched him across the face.

I ran out of the room, not bothering to look back. I moved towards the kitchen – _weapon_, _something – _when someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me onto the floor.

I hit the back of the couch, rather hard, and looked up at the Joker.

'_What?' _I nearly yelled. '_Why are you doing this_?'

He was pretending to be calm, or deranged-happy, but he was totally pissed off. 'Who's this Dawson kid?'

I froze. I realised a whole lot of things in three seconds. One, that he hadn't seen it happen, someone had told him – _or showed him a photo _– and hadn't bothered to mention I'd beat up the guy afterwards. Second, he was _jealous_ but now was so not the time to mention it. In fact, it made me feel downright scared.

I tried not to show it.

'Jerry,' I said quietly, keeping my eyes narrowed.

Next thing I knew, someone grabbed the front of my shirt and I was inches away from him. I swallowed hard, continued glaring. 'This is probably how Fang felt,' I told him angrily. I knew that was a lie. Fang had been, well, half okay with it. I'd been half okay with it. I was not okay with this and the Joker was probably about ready to kill me.

'_Why'd you kiss him?'_

I hit the floor again and yelled, 'I didn't _kiss _him!'

'Oh, of _course _you didn't!'

'He kissed me! If you'd actually _seen it, _you'd known I beat the crap out of him afterwards – who told you?'

The Joker was staring at me. 'What?' He didn't look confused. He looked like he didn't believe it. There was still that weird familiar glint in his eyes. He leaned down to my level, still staring at me. He got a heck of a lot closer and I turned my face away, breathing shallowly. He kissed me, but not like because he wanted to – because he felt like he _could_.

I pushed him off, wiping my mouth, glaring at him with enough anger to make a rock explode. He smirked at me again, standing up. I was shaking now; I was about to cry.

I wanted to scream that I hated him but that would just what he wanted. He was still watching me. 'Well, see you around, Max – or not.' He turned around, heading for the door and it was then that I recognised the thing that he'd been so well at impersonating.

'You're just like you father.'

He froze, back to me. The words hung heavily in the air, as if the room was full of some kind of pressure field. I nearly stopped breathing it was so tense. I expected him to run back and practically kill me, but he just turned and stared at me. I didn't know if he'd realised he was acting like his father, didn't believe me at all, or just didn't know what to think.

I realised I was already crying silently. I stood up, not even caring, walking to my room and slamming the door. I was so _childish._

--

I didn't know when I got to sleep. I just felt _disgusting _when I woke up – like I should've stayed asleep much longer, say the rest of my life. I groaned and put my hands on my face and nearly started crying again. I was going to _kill _Jerry Dawson.

**--**

**ONCE AGAIN, I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER. I'm surprised if anyone's still reading this.**

**If you still are, thanks so much!!! **


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Everything was destroyed. Everything was destroyed. _Everything _was destroyed. He was sitting in the corner of the old living room. Furniture had been upturned or broken, books his mother had read on whatever-the-hell were scattered all over the floor, and glass dominated the room... he hadn't even been thinking. He was bleeding shallowly from a cut on his knuckles from where he'd broken the window. Only the living room was chaotic. The other rooms were fine. The kitchen, the hallway, the bedrooms...

(_His room_)

They were all fine. He wondered if he'd at least _try _to clean it up. Then he wondered why he was even pretending to care.

What the hell mattered, right? He hit the back of his head _hard _on the wall behind him. He wondered why he wasn't dead yet. He felt empty now, after wrecking the living room. It wasn't the fact he had nothing left to break.

He glanced over at the hallway. Nothing was supposed to be... irritating anymore.

_You call it irritating?_

He stared at the hallway and licked his lips. He rubbed his hand across his mouth suddenly, staring hard. Why did he come back to Gotham? It'd been fun – it was all a lot of fun – but here was just –

(_Dad, stop it!_)

He was an idiot. All right, he could deal with that. But why hadn't he just _thought it out _before he went and did something? He'd listened to Batchelder or whatever the hell he was called instead of –

(_Dad – Dad, stop it – please, Dad_)

He just screwed up everything.

(_StopitstopitpleaseithurtsithurtsITHURTS)_

'SHUT UP!'

His scars were bleeding and he was having some kind of attack – it wasn't serious, something was just – '_Shut _– shut_ up _and just – leave me alone...' He swallowed hard. 'I'm not eight anymore.'

_What was wrong with him, why was this all so serious?_

The memories stopped. Thank God. He never needed to live through that again. Everywhere his parents took him after that – always the hushed stage whisper, people thought he was so idiotic he couldn't hear them – '_My God, what happened to his face?'_ – He had to live with his father –

_He's not my father._

He had to live with Jack saying 'Did it himself, plays with knives, what can I say?' and Harley, _Harley, _agreeing with him – everyone else simply gave him a look that meant _this one is definitely dead, no life ahead of him, and such a pity, such a nice family. What a stupid thing to do, go and cut yourself with a knife._

Because no one had the sense to think after the first side – _the right side _– he'd just feel no pain and continue on with the left one. Then what? He'd sit in the corner and stare at the ceiling, blood dripping down his face?

They had _no intelligence_, he was just told the same story over and over again – _it was your fault, and we did nothing – _

It was his fault with Max. He started shaking and couldn't stop. He hugged his knees, feeling pathetic and unlike himself. He was just like his father.

--

'Max, you look terrible,' Nudge said, stating the obvious.

I didn't have it in me to make a sarcastic remark. I merely nodded.

This put everyone's worries higher.

'Where's Tony?' I asked, ignoring them.

'He went out early,' said Angel (_how come everyone else knows these things and I never do?_). 'Max, you do look _really _bad, I'm sorry, but –'

'I'm fine,' I said irritably. 'Okay?'

'No,' said a different assortment of voices at the table. I glared at my plate. 'Look, I'm fine –'

'Has your boyfriend not been showing up lately?' Iggy asked, grinning. I picked up my glass and chucked it at him. It hit the wall behind him and shattered.

'Max!' said Nudge and the Gasman indignantly.

'Did she just throw her juice at me?' Iggy asked, suddenly uneasy.

I felt horrible immediately. 'Sorry, Iggy,' I said, feeling once again close to tears. He didn't know.

'Didn't know what?' asked Angel and the flock perked up.

'What happened?' asked Fang. 'You broke up with him?'

'No,' I said, feeling my shoulders sagging. I slumped forwards. 'Jerry Dawson –' I stopped suddenly when I saw the entire flock suddenly glaring at the mention of the very name. They looked as though they'd totally kill that guy, just for me.

'I don't deserve family like you guys,' I said from the depths of my heart, feeling it flow through me.

'You deserve everything good that happens to you, Max,' said Gazzy toughly. I ruffled his hair. My little soldier. 'Thanks, Gazzy,' I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.

'Max, what'd he do?' asked Fang, narrowing his eyes.

'He – saw Dawson kiss me.'

'Well, you pushed him off two seconds later, and he kissed _you_. He's got nothing to be mad about.'

I shook my head. 'Someone showed him a photo of the exact moment he kissed me – nothing before, nothing after. I think the School showed him and told him nothing.'

'Well, it's his fault for trusting the School, not you!' said Iggy furiously.

I shrugged.

'So... he showed up?' Total asked incredulously. 'Why didn't you ring us? I would've bitten –!'

'Thanks, Total,' I said, giving him a watery smile, not bothering to point out the reason I didn't ring was because I was hiding. The dog yipped dutifully at me, as if nothing else could be expected of him.

'Thanks, guys. Really,' I said, smiling at all of them.

Suddenly I was sandwiched by a gigantic flock hug. The mixtures of emotions in this hug were incredible and I decided, quite suddenly, that I would never take these hugs for granted.

--

Something tapped on the window.

I snapped upright in bed, fists curled and adrenaline pumping through my veins, to see...

_It's a friggin SEAGULL._

It was flapping around outside my window, squawking and hitting the glass at points.

It looked mucho stupid.

I also was blaming it for waking me up at –

_Look for the clock –_

2:09 a.m. I rolled my eyes, sinking back down onto my pillow. Well, I'm not going back to sleep.

Within a matter of seconds the seagull flew off, annoyed that I had given it no food (or something like that. I don't understand seagulls) and I rolled out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a jacket, opening the window.

The night air hit me like a tidal wave. I realised how warm it'd been in my room. I climbed out the window and jumped, falling through the air. I snapped out my wings, feeling the air rush through my feathers, and flapped hard, rising fast into the air.

The moon was a tiny sideways smile, like looking at the Cheshire Cat who hadn't fully appeared yet. I half expected to hear Whoopi Goldberg.

The crash of the waves down below me was practically music. I sighed, hanging in the air. Why couldn't it always be like this? No Erasers, no School, no problems?

_Because your life is meant to be hard, Max, _said the Voice.

Um, gee, thanks.

_Get lost, _I told it.

_You're brilliant, Maximum, you have to show it to the world. Nothing is easy for the incredible._

_Please leave. _

I dropped through the air carelessly, and soared over the rocks and the small beaches. It was nice to have some kind of peace.

_I wanna go somewhere else._

I stopped in mid-flap (yeah, that's pretty weird when it actually happens) then had to catch myself so I didn't fall. Where did I want to go?

I flapped hard, soaring up over the cliffs, then the clouds – the house disappeared. Where was I going? I had a pretty good idea where and I kept to it.

--

_Someone was outside the door. _

His head snapped up – _had he been asleep? _– and he looked around, momentarily lost and paranoid in these surroundings. Oh, he was in his room.

He sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Someone was opening the door downstairs. Footsteps echoed through the house. He remained quiet.

The footsteps stopped. He guessed they were surveying the living room. 'Hello?' someone asked and he froze. As soon as their footsteps started up again he jumped up, opened the window and lunged out, cat-like, grabbing onto a tree branch. He couldn't help grinning – this had been a useful escape. He moved to another branch and dropped to the ground. He was shrouded in darkness and, unable to really think of anything else, he stood there, staring up at the open window.

--

'Hello?' I asked, staring at the mass of wreckage in the living room. There was glass and a broken bookcase had been cracked in half as it had been thrown onto a couch. The couch was also quite dead.

Jumping over books and smashed ornaments, I ran into the hallway and up the stairs. I rammed open the Joker's door and stared. No one was there. I was _sure _he was here...

Well, he'd been here; either that or a miniature cyclone had whipped through the room.

I looked out the open window, looking around. 'Hello?' I asked again. My ears were met with silence. 'Um,' I said. 'I'm sorry.'

Why was _I _apologising? Because what I'd said, even though he'd started it, was probably one of the worst things he'd ever heard. 'About what I said,' I continued, eyeing the darkness. No movement. 'You're not Jack.'

Someone grabbed me from behind. I screamed and someone clamped a furry hand over my mouth.

'Who're you talking to?' asked the poetic voice of an Eraser, right in my ear.

I hit him as hard as I could, but he slung me over his shoulders like a potato sack. 'I _was_ looking for someone else, but we were going to come get _you_ anyway.'

'Come get me _anyway_?!' I shrieked. Another Eraser walked in, putting a sack over my head.

_NONONONONONO –_

I was sinking into unconsciousness. Must – fight –

But I couldn't. I was losing, and I could hear the Eraser's gross laughter as I was hauled roughly into somewhere. The engine sounded distant...

And then there were none.

--

_Everything was incredibly... muzzy._

_Muzzy doesn't even sound like a _word_._

Is _muzzy a word? Now I'm confused._

_Ooh, stop thinking... it hurts too much..._

_Maybe I bumped my head on the floor... or something... pounding head._

_There were footsteps... everything sounded slow and echoed through my head. Urgh, if this is what a hangover is like, I'm staying away from alcohol for, say, LIFE._

_Someone was talking. I hated the sound of their voice and I could see some blurred picture. I didn't know if this was a dream or reality._

_This person wasn't talking to me. They were talking to someone who was sitting against a wall, staring up at them. The person with the hated voice sounded amused – badly amused. It was disgusting to listen to –_

_Wait. _I frowned. _There were – STRIPES in my vision. There were big, black stripes, running down the picture. I tried to sit up, still unsure of reality or imagination, when I heard the other person talking – a nice voice, but there was something wrong, angry, something – and the standing person began attacking the other._

_Every punch echoed through my head. The one who had been sitting down wasn't even bothering to do anything... it hurt to think. It sounded clear and distorted at the same time, close and far away. It was too confusing._

I had the last thought, _I'm zoning out, _before my eyes snapped shut and I slept.

--

I felt much better when I woke up the second time (first time, second time?). Then I felt much worse.

Someone held my hand. It was a small hand. 'Max?' asked a tiny voice and I felt a _lot _worse. I snapped up, looking around and saw Angel, smiling wearily and sadly at me. 'Hi, Max.'

I stared at her for a second, mouth open, not believing it. Then I pulled her into a gigantic hug, holding her so tight I just felt I couldn't let go.

Angel didn't cry, but she probably would have if she did. She hugged me back and I realised how little we'd talked lately.

There was a cough and I looked up. Nudge was standing there too. 'Hi,' she said awkwardly, smiling half-heartedly at me. The situation was crap but she felt she had to show she was still okay.

_What situation WERE we in?_

I looked at the bars (_bars?_) and frowned. We were in a big room that had been fitted with cells. I could see Fang, Iggy and Gazzy in the cell across the room.

'What happened?' I said urgently, standing up.

'Erasers,' said Fang, and I detected a note of _serious _anger issues in his voice. 'They found us.'

'It's not like they didn't know we were with Tony,' I said gravely. I'd expected this, dammit, but nothing this –

'Tony! Oh, God, is he okay –?'

'He's _fine_, Max. He wasn't there when the Erasers came.'

'But what if they stayed?!' Wow, I'd gotten really attached to Tony. I was completely losing my mind.

'They didn't stay,' said Fang calmly. Iggy nodded irritably. 'They took _us_,' he said, jerking his thumb at Gazzy and Fang.

'All of us,' Nudge agreed.

'Where's Total?' I asked, feeling dread.

'The Erasers didn't want him,' said Angel. 'He got away.'

'I think they just knocked him out,' Gazzy said uncertainly. I wanted to hug him so bad.

_Lucky boy, _I thought. 'Good,' I said. I stared hard at the bars again. 'Where are we, jail?'

'Nope,' said Fang bluntly. 'We're in a pretty bad place to be. It's just somewhere in the wrong part of Gotham, buildings belonging to criminals.'

I stared at him. 'And you know this, how?'

'Erasers like to gloat,' he said drily.

'Oh, brilliant,' I said, rolling my eyes and turning to the right, away from everyone else. 'All right, so then what, we bust ourselves outta here and –'

I stopped. There were four cells all together in here, and the one I was looking at – the one next to mine, Nudge's and Angel's – had someone else in it. I stared him straight in the eyes, sure my mouth was gonna fall open. I didn't know how I looked. He looked pretty calm, except his eyes were still... dead, his shirt was a little ripped and his scars were bleeding – from someone reopening them by beating the crap out of him.

_That wasn't a dream_.

I felt horrible all of a sudden. I had no idea where the guilt was coming from, but I was so close to losing my mind all of a sudden – it was my fault everyone was here.

The Joker rolled his eyes – not at the situation, at _me_ – _he hates me_ – and looked back at the wall. He was silent.

I nearly fell over then turned back to the flock. I opened my mouth, closed it and opened it again. I looked at my family, closed my mouth and shook my head.

'What?' asked Gazzy, 'that's not it, is it?'

I shrugged. 'We need a plan.'

'All we need,' said Iggy, 'is a zebra and a can of black spray paint. We'll paint the zebra so it's _fully black_ and pretend it's a horse. If you're on a horse, you always get out of it. It happens in the movies.' 

I didn't have it in me to laugh. Then I realised he was just pissed off.

I fell back against the wall. How do we get out? We've got Erasers, possible crime bosses (not as hard as Erasers) and I couldn't leave the Joker in here (_yes, you can – no way in hell, I can't, that's the most inhumane thing ever – but it'll kill me, oh hell_) –

The door opened and our heads swivelled to the eleven or twelve Erasers entering the room. I braced myself, muscles tensing. I looked over at the Joker – _dead eyes, oh God help_) and lost all my fight immediately. I was helpless and finished. I didn't even care.

One Eraser unlocked the cell door, swung it open, grabbed me and pulled me out like I was made of air. I was shared between two Erasers, snarling and sniggering, and they pulled me out of the room. I could hear them getting the flock – _stop, no, please, they want to live _– and watched as, down the hallway which was dark and grey, with moonlight flowing in through the windows, Harley ran past me, giving me a terrified look then running to where the flock was exiting with Erasers. I heard her arguing squeakily as we moved up the hallway and finally, after a roar from a ferocious wolf-man, she shut up and let whatever was going to happen to her son happen.

Turned out, he was just being dragged with us. I was disappointed to see that, like me, he wasn't struggling. I tried to get him to look at me, but he was avoiding all eye contact entirely. God, this was becoming too much of a soap opera, even when I'm about to get my ass kicked.

The Erasers opened another door and I froze.

Jeb looked over and smiled at me, like we were still best buds; he was the only scientist in the room. The other few were all thugs, Erasers and – my eyes narrowed – Jack Napier.

There was a small couch and a few tables. There were no lights. People had been standing in the corner of the room and, as they shuffled out of the room, it was obvious Jeb had been talking with Jack. Jack whistled and I fought the urge to rip everything apart. I looked over at the Joker – once again, dead expression.

Jeez, I hated him!

The Erasers twisted me around and threw me down on the couch. I glared up at them. Jeb, who was behind me now, put his hand on my shoulder.

'How're you feeling, Maximum?'

'Oh, fine,' I heard my voice say snappily. 'How're you, Satan?'

Jeb's grip tightened for a second. 'I take that as an 'okay',' he said finally. I loved the fact he sounded irritated so quickly (_awesome!_). 'You know this is another test, right?'

'Because tests just _rock_,' I interjected. The rest of the flock had been pulled into the room and I saw Gazzy give me a smile. It was stupid retort, but I didn't care. I just wanted to make Jeb as angry as possible.

It was working. He gave me a stern look. It was a fatherly look, and I saw he couldn't get it as well as Tony could (okay, maybe the guy _was _okay at parenting) and he said warningly, 'Max...'

'What up, dawg?' I asked innocently. I looked at an Eraser, 'and, uh, dog?'

'Max, you've got to stop acting like this doesn't matter,' said Jeb. 'This is all a test. You're being _tested_.'

'No way,' I told him. 'Tests mean otherwise than being _tested_. God, am I thought of as _that much _of an idiot around here?'

Jeb gripped both my shoulders. 'That's _no way _to speak to me,' he said angrily.

I pushed him suddenly. 'You're _not _my _father_, Jeb! Get over it! You had a kid, and what happened? You sold him to the School, Eraser-fied him and now what? He's dead. I don't trust you with _any _kind of parenting.'

Jeb glared at me. He opened his mouth but I snapped, 'Don't _bother_.' I was getting annoyed now.

Fang was giving me an appraising look. Jeb still glared at me. 'You're under my authority. I raised you and the flock. You're special, Max, you have _wings._ You're here to save the world.'

I lost it.

'I am _NOT _under _ANYONE'S AUTHORITY_!' I yelled suddenly. 'Not yours, at least. For the love of God, you friggin _DIED, _you asshole! If you even _HAD _any authority, it died with you. When was the last time we did _anything _anyone said? Hell, we don't even do what _Tony _says. We've been on the run for a long enough time, we've been kidnapped, _grew up in a friggin lab, _been attacked, eaten fricking _rabbits_, with no ketchup or onions, or whatever the hell, and you're telling me you have _authority over us?_ Are you in _Crazy town_?!'

Iggy was trying not to laugh, but everyone else looked incredibly serious at my sudden outburst. I glared at Jeb. I wanted to scream at him how much I hated him, but that would be taking it too far. Jeb twitched and I heard something click.

'That,' said Jack from behind me, 'was what you meant by temper, right Batchelder?'

Jeb looked at him. 'Don't shoot her.'

_Shoot me_? I looked at the flock. They looked scared. The Erasers looked delighted, with some kind of hunger. Jeb looked scandalized. I looked at the Joker – who had decided the floor was better to look at.

Okay. I'm going down, but I'm pissing him off as much as I can.

'He won't,' I said snidely. There was another click behind me. I breathed in deep.

_I don't wanna die!_

'You ever danced with the Devil by the pale moonlight?' asked Jack.

I turned around and gave him a serious look. 'Yep,' I said. 'He told me you're a piece of shit.'

The gun went off and the lights went out.

--

**MAX!!!**

**I'm sorry to leave this at a cliff-hanger, but I'm about to die from tired-ness, so I HAVE to get to sleep.**

**Please review, and don't worry! Everything sorts out... however lame it may be...**

**Couldn't help but add in Jack's quote. As I was writing it, I though how incredibly corny it sounded but I couldn't leave him out! **


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

Nudge screamed.

Fang felt his breath stop – it all slowed down. He saw Max fall sideways so her head hit the couch. It was an odd angle – being dead probably didn't matter.

'_Max!' _screamed Angel – it sounded far away. _Max wasn't dead, _Fang thought desperately. She couldn't be dead. She was one of those people that didn't die.

Fang looked around at everyone. Jeb looked at Max not as if he loved her, but as if Jack had destroyed a priceless artefact in a museum – Iggy had a strained face on, he hadn't seen anything, but he knew – Angel and Nudge had tears streaming down their faces, unable to compute with this – Gazzy was frozen, eyes wide, about to break down.

_Fang _was about to break down. Blood boiling, he looked at the Joker –_ this is your fault _– and with no surprise saw he was staring at Max, completely frozen. God, did he even _care? _What had Max _seen _in this guy? He had no feelings for anything –

Iggy swallowed hard. Fang longed to say, 'Keep it together guys, never show them how you feel – remain neutral.' Max said that.

'Well,' said Jack, shrugging. 'I'm sure that solved your problem, Batchelder.'

'How – what did you –?' Jeb struggled to speak.

'It was simple. You've done it before, you know,' said Jack easily, grinning. He looked over at the Joker, who was still staring at Max, his eyes maybe a fraction wider than usual. Fang began shaking. The bastard didn't even care.

'How're you taking this, kiddo?' asked Jack, as if they were talking about a baseball game or something. Fang wanted to tell him not to bother, his son didn't care. 'I mean, I know you liked her and all, but –'

The Eraser obviously hadn't been holding on hard at all, thinking humans could be held with a grip that had less strength than a worm. Fang was surprised when the wolf man was punched hard enough to make his muzzle bleed and fell back.

'_YOU SON OF A BITCH!'_ he roared, lunging for Jack – an Eraser that had been holding Iggy leaped after him, grabbing him and pulling him back, holding him with the same amount of strength used with the flock. Fang watched him struggling to lunge back and – do what?

Jack laughed and Fang was suddenly jerked back as the Erasers began to drag them out of the room. He saw an Eraser pick up Max's body – her head turned limply towards the ground, hair falling across her face. He still saw her eyes were wide and glassy – and the bullet hole. He would've screamed, but Fang didn't scream. It was something he had never mastered.

--

Okay, everything here was su_premely _white... it was like I had landed in a white bowl of vanilla ice-cream. Except it was like clouds – swirling around in the air.

I looked around – there seemed to be no end to the whiteness, but somehow it was like I was standing in a circle.

Was I dead?

I was still wearing my T-shirt and jeans, my near-dead sneakers and I still had my... wings.

My wings, to tell you the truth, had been one of the furthest things from my mind for a really long time. I stretched them out, watching the dark colour through the white, which was now turning a bone/cream colour, and becoming sort of solid. Everything felt slow and peaceful – powerful, in a way. It was like every second was as old and majestic as the beginning of Time.

The mist – okay, maybe something a lot weirder than mist – was clearing now. It looked kinda like a cloudy version of a park – not any one I knew, but I could see a park bench – and sitting on it was –

Ari.

But not Eraser Ari, it was Ari as he might have been if he was seven years old, and normal. He looked at me, and smiled – he didn't have burly muscles or anything, and no rage to kill me; he was a normal kid. I felt a surge of jealousy.

But he was dead. And so I am?

'Hey, Max,' said Ari, waving to me – the park was turning faintly coloured now.

I stared at him warily. 'Hey... Ari.'

We were silent for a while. I watched him; this kid and I had spent, like, _two years_ trying to kill each other. Still, he didn't look like he was going to attack me.

'How are you?' I asked finally, still standing.

'I'm okay,' he said truthfully. He shrugged. 'So, you got shot.'

'Um, yeah,' I said. He nodded and said, 'Do you wanna sit down?'

'Uh, sure.' I sat down next to him. The park had become coloured, green, blue, whatever the hell, but was still distinctly swirly-cloudy around the edges.

'How'd it happen?' Ari asked.

'I made a guy with a gun get angry,' I said in an oddly calm voice. Finally, I burst with questions. 'Am I dead? How long have you been here? Is this Heaven? Is the flock okay?'

Ari grinned – nothing predatory in it. Then it hit me – this was _Ari_, little kid Ari who followed me around in the School. I nearly wanted to hug him. 'This isn't Heaven – this is kinda middle. You're dead, for the moment. The flock – well, how do you think they are, Max?'

I sighed. Damn it. If I was dead, then –

Wait.

'Dead for the moment?' I asked warily.

Ari smiled. 'You can't die just yet. You've still got heaps to do.'

'What about you?' I asked. 'You still had heaps to do,' I pointed out irritably, crossing my arms.

Ari shook his head. 'I expired.'

'Well, it wasn't _fair_,' I snapped and winced. It sounded childish. I _knew _things weren't fair.

'I know,' Ari said, and I couldn't tell if he had somehow read my mind and answered _that _or my statement out loud. 'But you really need a second chance. You've got the flock, Tony... and a highly insane guy who likes you so much it freaks him out.'

I laughed drily. I wasn't getting into a conversation about that. 'Are you kidding? He's probably like, yippee, she's finally _dead_.' I was quiet for a moment. 'He hates me,' I said.

Ari smirked. I rolled my eyes at him. 'So,' I said. 'Do I go back now?'

He nodded. 'I guess. Any more questions you wanna ask?'

I blinked. 'Yeah, actually. Why was I having all those crazy dreams?'

'What?'

'About the Joker. When he was a kid. How come?'

Ari smiled for a second then looked innocent. 'Well, do you like him now, or not?'

I stared at him. 'That's not an answer, and no way in _hell _did dreams make... anything happen.'

'Well, it made you feel sorry for him, right?'

'Hey –'

'It gave you an insight on his life, right? That it wasn't his entire fault?'

'This is so _stupid _that I'm even having this conversation with you –'

'Okay, well, maybe not,' said Ari, trying not to laugh. 'But you're the one who kissed _him_.'

'How you even know that, I don't –'

'I don't know why you got 'em, Max. I just think they helped, right?'

I stared at him. 'It was _you_ –'

'I guess I'll see you when you're supposed to die, right?' Ari said, grinning. There was something familiar to being sucked through a vacuum cleaner, and the clouds faded away and it was black.

It was black because I had my eyes closed.

But I felt just as angry as I had before, like I was ready to kill someone, with the slight happiness of not being dead.

I was being held by someone – I didn't tense so they wouldn't realise I wasn't dead – _I wasn't dead!_ – I stopped.

I thought it was Fang or Iggy for a moment, because whoever it was had their arms wrapped loosely but protectively around me. My head was forwards, as I guess being dead you don't really care what position you're in – but now my neck was starting to hurt like crazy. Still, I tried hard to take tiny gulps of air.

'Can't we try – CPR or something?' It sounded like Iggy's voice, shaky and unbelieving. He was scared. When you're scared, even the stupidest ideas you have you put out.

'She was shot through the frigging _head_,' growled the person who was holding me – they sounded very close to breaking point –

Close to breaking down, actually. They sounded... incredibly mixed up, like they didn't know whether to be angry or sad and they were forever switching in-between.

This is the effect I have on people.

'Well, I don't see why you're not for it,' Fang snarled. He sounded like he was across the room. 'It'd give you an excuse to share tongues again, right?'

'Ex_cuse me_?' I asked icily, opening my eyes and looking up, brushing the hair out of my face.

It had the sort of effect I wanted in way; Iggy and Nudge screamed, Fang jumped back, Gazzy looked like his eyes would fall out of his head and Angel yelled joyously, '_Max!_'

Seeing as how I'm not an owl, I couldn't turn my head the entire way around. I craned my neck and looked sideways the Joker, who was holding me, and staring at me like he wasn't sure if this was a hallucination or not.

'Am I crazy, or is she talking?' Fang asked, his voice an octave higher.

'Don't ask me,' said the Joker, still staring at me.

'So, I see my awakening from the dead has failed to stun you,' I said in a powerful eerie voice, rolling my eyes at him.

'Yep, she's alive,' said Iggy in a bored voice. I resisted the urge to give him a dagger glare, instead smiled at the Joker. 'Did you miss me?'

With a movement so quick I was surprised; I was being pinned up against the wall. '_What the hell is wrong with you?_'

'You _did _miss me,' I said, grinning at him. He rolled his eyes and let go, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, muttering something under his breath.

'So, um, you're alive, how?' Gazzy asked uneasily.

'Is she a zombie?' whispered Iggy.

'I'll tell you about it when we get out,' I said, feeling a lot better and like I'd gotten something off my chest.

'Good question – _how _do we get out?' Nudge said.

We were back in the cells. Oh. Okay.

'Um,' I said, looking around. 'Okay, I have no idea. Anyone who can saw through bars with their minds, speak up.'

Silence.

'Ig? Lock-picking?'

Iggy shook his head. 'They took it away. And my explosives.'

'You like explosives?' asked the Joker, looking up.

'_Don't _encourage them,' I snapped at Gazzy, who opened his mouth. The Joker smirked momentarily then went back to looking _mucho _pissed off.

'Okay, so how _do _we get out?' I said to myself, looking around. I looked at the Joker. 'Any plans?'

'Do I _look _like a guy with a plan?'

I rolled my eyes. He was still angry for some reason.

The door opened and an Eraser walked in. He looked around at us and grinned hungrily. 'They're all fine,' he said to someone outside, and his fangs looked too big for his mouth.

'Just peachy, dog breath,' Fang said, rolling his eyes. He said it really loudly.

The Eraser's head snapped towards him. 'What was that?'

Fang shrugged. 'You can hear _perfectly_, dogs have that, right?'

The Eraser growled and walked to Fang's cell, which was holding Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge and Angel. Oh, gee, entire flock on one side.

'Don't make me –'

'Do what?' Fang pressed. 'Snarl at me. I'm pretty sure I have a dog whistle, so I'll be triumphant... once again. We always kick your butts.'

The Eraser took out a key, unlocked the door, snarling wildly. As soon as he opened it, Fang jumped in the air and barrelled into the Eraser, getting him on the ground and punching the _crap _out of him. We all stared for three seconds until the Eraser was unconscious.

'You have issues,' I said.

'The plan is – improvise,' said Fang, taking the keys and unlocking all our doors.

**--**

**Crazy chapter that was in fact way too short.**

**YEAH. **

**:P, hope you liked it. **


	31. Chapter 31

**WARNING: there's a teensy bit of violence in this... okay, probably a bit... but, um, I hope you like most of it.**

**Chapter Thirty-One**

I ran out into the hallway. Whoever had been waiting for the Eraser to return had left. That was waaay too lucky.

The lights were still off so, as the flock filed into the hallway, there could be a good chance of us getting away before people noticed. Of course, finding exits.

I ran up to the windows. They were too small for anyone except Angel to get through – but at least we could see how far we were from the ground.

Actually, we were only about five storeys high. Okay, that was good. Badness – where the _hell _were the exit signs.

'Okay,' I said, looking back at the flock – 'if they keep the lights turned off then we'll be –'

There was the noise of some major switch being flicked on and a surge of humming power. The lights flicked on.

'– fine,' I finished lamely, looking up.

'Gee, ironic,' said Iggy brightly.

'Not funny,' I said, grabbing Angel's hand and running down the hallway. I heard the flock following me.

It was all just hallways – the corners and the doors that led to the other rooms. As I opened a door marked STAIRS, I wondered when the Erasers would show up.

The answer was much too quickly.

We heard the roars of rage seven minutes later, after travelling down the hallways at quiet speed. Now, we just went at full speed.

We could hear Erasers pounding after us – snarling, growling and gross choking noises that sounded like some laughing.

I looked back and ran through most of the swearwords I knew. Three Erasers had turned into the hallways, one scrabbling on all four – it looked pretty stupid, but he was gaining.

'_Move_,' I yelled, picking up Angel and taking a sudden left. The flock veered after me and I realised something _– we were missing someone_.

Oh, for the love of _God_!

I handed Angel to Fang, stopping. The flock stopped too and I didn't have time to tell them they had to keep running. 'No,' I said hastily, 'I have to –'

The Erasers turned the corner, and the one on all fours lunged, snarling wildly. I braced myself for pain, gritting my teeth, and jumped forwards to meet him, swinging a punch wildly at his face.

I hit and he swerved momentarily. Then the other two caught up.

I had my hands full (_punch to the face, PAIN, hitting face, stomach PAIN) _so I was glad to see Fang, Nudge and Iggy leap forwards and start hitting whatever they could.

The Eraser I was dealing with crashed his fist into my stomach and I lost all air momentarily. Snarling, he pushed me to the wall, long fangs bared.

'You ready to die, bird girl?' he snarled.

'Obviously, you weren't here twenty minutes ago,' I said with as much amusement as I could muster.

The Eraser glared at me and I chopped his neck; he howled and I barrelled into him, throwing every punch and kick I could, hitting his stomach, head, chest, ears – _anything_.

The Eraser screamed and waved his arms, trying to hit me – I felt a blow to my shoulder so hard it might come off and I felt dizzy – and I cupped both my hands to ears, hard. He screamed again and lost consciousness.

I looked up at the others, breathing hard. Nudge and Iggy had taken one down, Fang the other. Gazzy and Angel were staring. I felt blood running down my lip and swallowed. 'Great, okay. Listen – there's _got _to be an exit nearby –'

'Yeah,' said the Gasman, staring at me.

'When you guys get out –'

'When _we _get out?' snapped Fang. 'Oh, no. You're coming with us. I'm not letting you stay behind for a psychopath.' He leaned forwards and grabbed my arms. 'You're probably feeling like crap because you just _died_, let's not forget and –'

I slipped out of his grip and he stared at me. 'I'll be fine,' I said, feeling a surge of adrenaline. 'Right now, I gotta go find him.'

'He'll get out on his own,' Fang said, sounding close to pleading.

'Nope, I gotta,' I said, giving him a real big hug. Fang froze then tentatively patted my back. 'I'll see you guys,' I said, pulling back. 'Get out quick. Meet back at Tony's house.'

'But won't they just find us again?' asked Angel desperately.

I shook my head. 'I'll figure out something.'

Voices were coming into hearing.

'Go!' I told them, turning around and running back down the hallway, running past where we'd turned into and heading straight down the halls. The lights turned off again – maybe the Erasers were going to use darkness to creep up on us.

I could see just as well in dark as I could in light – so that idea was screwed for them.

I shivered. What could be happening now? Had Jack found his son? Or had his son found him? God, this was confusing, why was I even here? Because for some reason, he was _still _angry with me.

Geez, I die and he's still not happy. I frowned. I should've left with the flock.

I stopped suddenly. There were footsteps and snarls – Erasers. I opened a door and ran into the room, not shutting the door fully so I could see. The Erasers sauntered past, growling commands to each other. They had guns. I swallowed. _Let the flock get out, let the flock get out._

I heard talking suddenly. Someone yelling angrily – it was muffled, it was through the wall –

I walked quietly to the wall, putting my ear to it.

'Do you have any _idea _what you just done?! She was priceless – an incredible species, one of science's greatest beings! And you _killed her_ –'

'Well, can't do anything now, huh?'

'You don't understand,' Jeb was saying hollowly. 'You don't, do you? Of course not. You're a pitiful excuse for a human being.'

'Ow. That one hurt me.'

'Just look at your son.'

'Ooh, hit me with the whole... "child" thing. Let's just remember which one is dead, shall we?'

Jack sounded like he was enjoying the argument quite a bit.

'Eraser's life spans aren't long,' Jeb said angrily. 'And I never attacked Ari until the point of insanity, did I? I never cut open my son's mouth.'

Silence.

'You know I'm right.'

'Actually, no, I was being quiet so you could _feel _you were right. Now, you're just dead.'

There was gunshots and I jumped – there was a thud as someone hit the floor. _Jeb was dead_.

Even though I _hated _the guy, I'd loved him – he'd rescued us – he was the reason we were free. He'd taught us how to fly, how to fight, how to win, loved us when we cried, been stern when we were idiots. And he was dead.

People dying left and right. I jolted. Ari and Jeb. I'd been dead. It hadn't really hit me.

I opened the door silently. Okay, this was getting easy. I stepped out into the hallway. It was dark and –

Someone's hand clamped down on my mouth, dragging me back somewhere. I thrashed, trying to scream – what good would it do me? – I was pushed up against a wall.

'Aw, don't be like that,' said Jack, holding my chin with one hand and tilting my face towards his. I struggled again, desperate to get away – _must get away –_

'Hey –' Jack roughly turned my face back. I glared at him, his nails digging into me. He rolled his eyes. 'I swear I killed you.'

'I'm hard to kill,' I snapped. _Get off me, you sick bastard._ 'I've got too much stuff to live for.'

Jack arched his eyebrows at this. 'Oh, I see,' he said, nodding as if he got I'd just died and come back to life because I had a tight schedule. I struggled again – he pushed hard so that I hit the wall hard. If he was normal, I would've kicked his ass, but there was something completely terrifying about him. He knew no boundaries. 'Honest to God, how many times do I have to kill you?' he asked, letting go of my face and pulling a knife out of his jacket pocket. 'Guns are a lot quicker, but I'm sure you've had knife experience with son.'

I yelled, '_HELP_ –' He stuck the blade inside my mouth and I froze. He would really do it. I was going to die that quickly. 'He's going to be so mad when he sees this...'

I whimpered. Oh, God, I was going to die that quickly. I hadn't done enough things in life.

'_Get off her_.'

Jack flew sideways as someone rammed into him, both men hitting the ground. There was a lot of struggling noises and heavy _thuds!_

I stood there, trying to breathe. The knife had flown out of my mouth and I gingerly rubbed my face. I glanced at the doorway. _How had he found me?_

I looked over at the fight in the middle of the room – I don't think I even existed anymore. Jack was fighting because it was fun, because it was just another game.

The Joker, from what I could see of his face, looked scarier than any time I had seen him. He looked as though the only thing that mattered was killing Jack, or paying him back for all the damage he'd done.

'_If you EVER touch her again –_'

Jack laughed and blood flew out of his mouth onto the carpet as something with enough force to knock out a few teeth slammed into his face. The Joker punched him again and Jack coughed, losing his grip on something – my jaw dropped – it was a gun. Jack had had a gun and a knife. And the Joker, though probably completely stacked on knives, used nothing.

The Joker climbed to his feet, jittery, holding the gun and throwing it across the room out of Jack's reach. He looked down at his father – the man looked back up at him – there was nothing apologetic in his eyes. It was simply that he'd lost.

'If you go near her, I will rip your throat out,' the Joker said, sounding calm. He looked as though he was about to, as well – he finally had Jack cornered, and he was so pissed off he couldn't even enjoy the moment. I hoped that if he could, he wouldn't have anyway. I felt sick.

The Joker looked over at me, breathing hard. 'You might wanna leave,' he said.

I gaped at him and he pointed to a door in the room I hadn't noticed was there – this room was like an apartment, I realised suddenly. There was furniture and a hallway. I nodded at the Joker and walked down the hallway, opening the door – which was a bedroom – and shutting it hard, trembling. I didn't want to think what was happening on the other side.

--

'So,' said Jack, his eyes shining. He was crumpled against the wall. 'Finally caught me, huh? Ecstatic?'

The Joker scrutinized his father – _this was some pitiful excuse for a father _– and said, 'Why?'

It sounded stupid coming out of his mouth – it was like a bad movie where, at the end, someone overly dramatic screams 'BUT WHY? TELL US, WHY?'

Jack grinned. 'Why what?'

'WELL, uh, everything,' said the Joker, much calmer than he felt. He had blood running down the side of his face.

Jack simply rolled his eyes. 'Anything in particular, kiddo?'

He felt his hands clenched and he looked around the room. He grabbed a lamp, broke the wood in two, and held the part without the bulb and shade. 'Broke my left femur bone. Apparently I fell down a staircase. I was three. Anything to do with that?'

Jack's eyes were laughing. 'What could _I _have done with that?'

The next moment his eyes weren't laughing. The Joker crashed the pole against his leg and Jack jolted, his eyes widening. He swallowed and looked back at his son. 'Anything else?' he asked.

'Broke my wrist and had a pretty bad bruise on my shoulder. Seven. Anything to do with that?'

'Oh, for the love of God, you were at school, and –' Jack began and then there was pain. He choked and grabbed his arm.

'Right. Sixteen. Most of the scars on my torso and this one,' he traced his shoulder to his elbow on his right arm. 'What was I, mauled by a dog?'

'You were in the school kitchen – _GAH, shit_!' He jumped as the stick connected harder than before with his chest.

'Five. Lost feeling in my left leg after –'

'Don't you have anything _better _to do?' snarled Jack. 'You've got a girlfriend in there, don't keep her waiting.'

He nearly lost control then. 'Ah, no – wrong subject.' He snapped out a switchblade, crouching down and sticking it in Jack's mouth. 'Eight years old. Got these,' he gestured to his scars. He licked his lips. 'What was it you said? Playing with knives. _Right_... everyone knew that one...' He smiled and Jack glared at him. 'Oh, and probably the rest of my life for those seventeen years.'

'If you do this,' said Jack, eyes laughing for the second, 'you'll be just like me. You know that, right?'

To his surprise and dread, his son laughed, indicating his scars. 'Nope. _You'll _be just like _me_.'

--

Silence.

I sat on the bed, feeling scared. The talking in the next room had stopped pretty suddenly. I had tried incredibly hard not to listen.

I was shaking pretty badly, so in an attempt to stop I pulled my knees up to my chest and clamped onto them. It didn't help much.

I looked around the room. There was a closet and a bathroom. The bathroom door was open, showing an amazingly white-tiled room. My mind wouldn't wander though.

Was Jack _dead _in the next room? I shivered Jeb was dead. I wondered – had Jack pulled me into the same room he'd murdered Jeb? God, there was nothing to think about but death, was there?

Except the flock, I realised suddenly. _Please let them get back to Tony. Please let them be okay._

The door opened and I jumped, watching as it opened, paralysed.

The Joker walked in, glanced at me and winced. He looked at his hands, which – _Oh... _– were covered with blood.

'There's a bathroom,' I said, sounding much calmer than I felt. I nodded towards it. He shrugged, went over to the sink and turned on the tap, scrubbing his hands pretty viciously. He glanced at me in the mirror a few times and I just stared, unable to think of anything to say. Well, what _do _you say in this situation? So, your dad's dead. Somehow that didn't work out.

Neither did 'What will Harley think?'

As I thought about it, I decided on something. But before I could say it, he said, 'So, you gonna leave now?'

I closed my mouth and blinked. 'What?'

He turned off the tap and put his hands on either side of the sink bowl. I stared at him through the mirror. 'Well, you're obviously freaking out just because I had blood on my hands, so I'm judging you'd be mortified by... the next room. So I'm guessing you're going to go now.' He was gripping the sink bowl really tightly and he looked incredibly tense.

'You've got a lot of judging and guessing going on,' I said, staring at the mirror. I could see my reflection over his shoulder – pale and a little scared looking – _and no bullet hole through my head, it'd healed when I came back, thank God – _ but besides that, defiant.

He looked up at my reflection and turned around, letting go of the sink and staring at me. He crossed his arms, chewing his scars, and scrutinized me. There was blood on his shirt and one of the sleeves had been ripped, revealing scarred skin.

'Are you still mad at me?' I asked.

'Are you still mad at _me_?'

I sighed, shrugging. 'I've made that pretty clear: no.'

He looked back at me. 'You've got a lot more reasons to be mad at me.'

'Are you actually _defending _me?' I asked, amazed.

He rolled his eyes. 'No.'

I narrowed my eyes at him and he smirked. Just like old times, huh. Then he looked serious again.

'I'm not going to go,' I told irritably. 'I just left the flock – _the flock _– to go find you. Which reminds me, why'd you go in the first place?'

The Joker jerked his head to the next room. I nodded. 'Thanks for, um, saving me,' I said awkwardly. 'You really... flew off the handle.'

I wondered if that had been the right thing to say, but he grinned momentarily at it. He chewed his scars again. 'What was I supposed to do? He was...' To my surprise, he looked awkward. 'Going to hurt you,' he said finally, staring firmly at the floor.

'Oh, my God,' I said, trying not to laugh, 'for once in my life, _I _am the one that made you awkward! Yes!' I crossed my arms, grinning.

'Shut up,' he told me, looking at me with annoyance.

'No _way_,' I said, 'I am in a rare position of power here, and I am going to use it –' I jumped off the bed. I walked straight up to him. 'In. Your. Face.'

He smirked. I was in too much amazement to realise what that meant.

'But seriously,' I said, walking past him and looking into the bathroom. I swallowed. 'How the _hell _did you just get that awkward? I mean –'

My sentence was interrupted by someone pulling me back to a wall and kissing me, so I couldn't really think the rest of the sentence. My chest fluttered.

Then it stopped.

I glared at him. 'You did that just to shut me up, didn't you?'

He smirked. 'Possibly.'

I opened my mouth, and closed it again. I blinked. 'Good job,' I said, my voice sounding a little high.

He grinned to himself.

Then there was the scream in the next room.

The Joker tried to push me into the bathroom, but I dodged and stared at the door. It burst open a moment later, and Harley stood there, eyes brimming with tears and looking pretty mad.

'_You_ –' was all she could muster, staring at the Joker, who looked immediately annoyed. 'How _could – you –?_'

She ran at him and tried to slap him, but it would've been pretty weak and he caught her hand. She nearly broke down right there and then. I wasn't noticed by her.

'_What _is _wrong _with you?' she sobbed, not bothering to hold the tears in.

'You should've left him,' the Joker said, suddenly ice cold.

'Is this because of those?' she snapped, anger flaming momentarily. She pointed to his scars. 'He had been _drinking _–'

'Like that's an excuse for _anything,_' the Joker snarled back. I backed away. This was a family quarrel and I just wanted out. 'He ripped open my mouth with a knife. I had to _sew it up _myself. All he did was beat the crap out of me.' Harley began crying again and he winced. 'Don't.'

She hugged him quite suddenly, and if we had been anywhere else I would've laughed at the look on his face – he was completely surprised. 'I'm sorry,' she wailed suddenly. 'I know I was stupid, but I couldn't help it! I loved him!' She buried her head in his chest and continued crying. He looked over at me.

'Miss Quinn,' I said, a little wary. She turned around, wiping her eyes. 'Oh,' she said, giving me a watery smile. 'Hello, dear.'

I winced. 'Hi. Um. I'm really sorry. Even though I – well, you liked him.'

Behind her, the Joker chewed his scars, narrowing his eyes at me.

Harley nodded. Then she burst into tears again. I moved towards her but she said, 'I'll be okay – I –' She stopped, and I felt _fully _sorry for her.

'You should leave,' she said finally, looking at her son.

'Is that a threat?' he asked, gritting his teeth.

'No,' Harley said, leaning over and pecking him on the cheek – he nearly took a step back. 'It's just those – wolf men...'

'Right,' the Joker said, looking over at me.

'Come on,' I said, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him out of the room. I wanted to tell Harley I was sorry for her, and I felt even worse when I heard her start crying again. I avoided looking at anything but the door as I walked through the apartment, into the hallway.

'Exit's up there,' the Joker said, nodding to the left.

I nodded and we walked up the way the flock had gone. 'You left when we got out of the cells, didn't you?'

'Would've told you where you were going if I hadn't.'

'How d'you know?'

'Jack brought me here. The day after he gave me these.' He indicated his mouth as I opened the door with the green EXIT sign above it and we ran out onto a metal staircase, into the cool night air and practically jumped down them. It was over. 'He thought he'd show everyone what a freak I am.'

'You're not a freak,' I told him. Jeb and Jack were dead. What about ter Borcht? Probably nothing... I hoped.

The Erasers? Maybe they'd back off, now that this fiasco had happened. Maybe. I hoped.

I realised quite suddenly that I was walking alone. I turned around and the Joker stood there, staring at me.

'Oh, come on,' I said. 'Look at me. I'm an experiment with bird wings. You're a friggin _angel _compared to me.'

He grinned suddenly – we should get moving. 'Is that why you said that on the beach?'

I stared at him – what was he talking about?

Then I remembered – I blushed. _The beach_. Where I'd gone temporarily mental and – I must've said _something _out loud.

'No,' I lied, but he knew it. He smirked and walked ahead of me. 'I know where I'm going,' he said. I sighed and ran after him, embarrassed but feeling slightly like my chest might burst.

Not for breathing reasons, either.

**--**

**Kinda crazy. Hope you liked it... well, bits of it...**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

Word to the wise – don't try and think you can catch a train somewhere if you're covered in blood and the person you're standing with won't show his face to anyone.

Not that we actually tried. I was still kinda fazed by the whole thing, and feeling a little, well, embarrassed, I said, 'Do you think we could... catch a train?'

I'd been thinking about it because that was how the Joker got out of Gotham. I'd been thinking about this all quite a bit.

He stopped walking (I had no idea where I was going, so I had to rely on his knowledge), turned around and stared at me. 'No,' he said and turned back to getting us out of here.

The streets were dark and cold. You had the odd feeling people were watching you, though everything seemed deserted. I ran up to where the Joker was walking.

'Nearly there?' I asked. He didn't reply.

The houses here were all brick-apartment style – dark alleys with garbage cans in them, cats running, streetlights not all on.

We turned a corner, two people wearing beanies and jackets staring at us with open mouths.

'_Dude_,' I heard one of them whisper. 'That's the _Joker_, I swear.'

I rolled my eyes and stopped, my breath steaming in front of me.

'I've been here,' I said, stunned.

'So have I,' said the Joker in a mocking voice, looking at me in fake surprise.

I narrowed my eyes. 'No, I mean – I dreamt that... walking down here... well, the park isn't very far from here.'

He smirked, said something that sounded like 'Well done,' then continued walking.

I was silent as I thought about things: had the flock gotten back? Was Tony going to kill us for coming separately? Hell, was he just going to kill us because I was bringing the _Joker _back with me?

We walked through a few more backstreets, listening to the odd car going by.

The silence was awkward for me. He was probably fine. I glanced at his face. He _was _fine. He was just wondering where he was going. I grinned, wondering what Nudge would say in an awkward silence.

'What?' he asked, looking over at me.

'What?'

'What's making you laugh?'

I stared at him. He'd been paying _that much _attention to me? 'Uh, nothing,' I said, shrugging. 'I'm just thinking.'

He nodded then grabbed my arm, pulling me across a road and I realised we were back in the Gotham I knew. I could see more cars up ahead.

The wind blew and I shivered. He looked over at me.

'So, you, uh, died,' he said casually.

'Yeah,' I said finally.

'What was it like?'

I smirked at him. 'Afraid of the unknown?'

'No. Interested.'

I thought about it. 'White,' I said. 'Misty.'

The Joker stopped and looked at me. 'Seriously?'

'I talked to Ari.'

'You mentioned him. I was in a cell, if I remember correctly. The next time I asked about him, we were here.'

I jumped; we were in the park. I hadn't even noticed, I'd been looking at my feet, but we were in front of the play equipment. The cars zoomed past freely now, no one even noticing us.

'He was Jeb's son. They Eraser-fied him and he... died.'

'Expired?'

'Yeah.' I smiled. 'You're smart.'

'And you realised this, when?' he asked, arching an eyebrow at me.

I rolled my eyes and walked to the swings, sitting down on them. I looked at my boots, dragging on the ground. I heard footsteps and they stopped next to me, leaning against one of the posts that held up the swings.

'Thanks again for saving me,' I said, staring at my feet.

I actually _felt _him tense. 'He killed you, then tried to do it again.' I was surprised at how angry he sounded. I told him and he growled at me.

'Why _wouldn't _I be angry? He was going to kill you just to piss me off.'

'Did it work?'

He looked at me in irritation. I smiled at him and started to swing.

'Are you gonna come back with me to Tony's?' I asked.

'Probably not –'

I stopped swinging and gave him 'the look.' 'What?'

He frowned. 'You're kidding, right?'

'No, _you _are.'

'Oh, come on.'

'Why wouldn't you come back to Tony's house?'

'I dunno – maybe because, uh, _oh, yeah_, they all hate me.'

'Since when've you cared about that?'

'I don't. Just what's the point? Then everyone'd get annoyed at you –'

'You _saved _my _life_.'

'So? _You've_ saved your life eight hundred times already. I don't –'

'Because it shows you have some human feelings towards other people,' I said, standing up and crossing my arms at him.

He tilted his head, looking down at me (_damn him and his somewhat cuteness!_) and smirked. 'What're you gonna do, hit me?'

I stood a little taller and – _gasp _– I kissed him, putting one hand on the back of his neck and pushed up a _lot _closer.

It seemed to go on forever. Finally, I backed up and smiled charmingly at him.

'Not going to work,' he told me in a bored voice.

'_Oh, come on, _please?!'

'Why are you so persistent?'

'Why are you so _annoying_?'

'And, ladies and gentlemen, _there _is a reason why you _will not_ want me in Tony's house.' He chewed his scars.

'Oh, for the love of God, forget I even asked,' I said exasperatedly, rolling my eyes and turning around, trudging away. 'Fine,' I called back. 'I'll see you around.'

I continued walking, through the trees, feeling cold and angry. I couldn't believe him. Why couldn't he just come with me and –?

Too late I heard the running footsteps and something crashed into me, pushing me to the ground. I yelped, hitting the ground (which was still kind of wet) with someone half on me. They turned me over and kissed me.

Now _this _seemed to go on for forever.

The Joker looked at me, turning from slightly happy (I saw it) back to irritated. 'I'll go,' he said, standing up and helping me up. I couldn't hold in a triumphant chuckle.

--

When I opened the door and walked into the living room, I managed to see everything in the three seconds I had before everyone practically leapt on me;

Nudge had been crying. Angel was holding Total incredibly tightly and he was whimpering. Gazzy was on the couch, sitting on Iggy, who had an arm around the little boy and was staring at the ground with wide, blank eyes. Fang and Tony were sitting in chairs, looking incredibly distressed. Then they all looked up and the flock yelled '_MAX!_'

And suddenly I was in a Max/flock sandwich. I hoped I would never take hugs for granted. I hugged back as many of the kids I could.

'Thank God you're okay,' I said, closing my eyes tightly – I didn't want _anyone _to see I could in fact be crying. 'I was completely terrified that... something might have happened.'

'If you _ever _do that again, I will kill you,' Fang told me, trying to hug me tighter. I smiled. Mr Rock was trying to hug me.

'Aye, captain!' I saluted.

Tony was staring at me, half-unable to believe I was actually there and covered in blood. I gave him a weak smile. _Please tell me I'm not in trouble._

He narrowed his eyes. _No, you're in trouble._

'What the hell were you thinking?' he asked when the flock finally let go – I forgot entirely there was a guy standing in the hallway, watching all of this.

'I –'

'You _died_.'

I looked over at Nudge. 'Why did you tell him that?' I asked out of the corner of my mouth, even though everyone could see.

Nudge whispered back, 'We were _worried _about you. We didn't really have a handle on what we were saying.'

'Okay,' I said normally, looking back at Tony and putting my hands up. 'Yeah, I was shot.'

'Through the head,' Nudge piped then covered her mouth with her hands.

'Nudge!' I snapped and Tony gave me a look of disbelief. '_What?'_

'Okay, yes, I was shot, I died and I came back. Can we _not _talk about this –?' I asked, starting to get really annoyed.

'So, this is my cue?' asked the Joker, stepping in and everyone turned to look at him.

Tony looked at me and gave me a hard look. 'Max.'

'When I went back, Jack Napier got me – _he _saved my life,' I said, pointing to the Joker, who took a step back, not wanting to show he did any such thing.

Fang's eyes flickered between me and the Joker. Blood-stained winged girl. Awkward looking clown.

'Why?' asked Fang slowly.

The Joker gave him a look that meant pure death because he asked that question and I said, 'Um, because.' _Do I really have to answer this? _I asked desperately.

Fang nodded slowly then looked back at the Joker. 'You saved her life?'

The Joker barely inclined his head. 'Yep.'

Fang held out his hand. 'Can we truce for the time being?'

I blinked. _Fang _wanted to _truce_? The Joker looked at him warily then they shook on it.

There was something highly triumphant-giving in that. I smiled.

'They'll learn to love each other,' whispered Iggy and I tried not to laugh. I looked at Tony quickly and shrugged. His house, his choice.

To my utter surprise, he winked, then looked annoyed. 'Fine,' he said tiredly and shrugged. To my surprise, as I looked around at the flock, I saw I wasn't the only one grinning.

'So,' said Iggy conversationally, 'you like explosives?'

'Oh, God,' I said, putting my head in my hands.

--

Amazingly enough, I woke up incredibly early the next morning. I sat up and looked out the window. Dawn was edging the corners of the sky.

I never really appreciated being able to look out my window and see the ocean and the grey clouded sky, with the hints of yellow and orange in it. It looked stunning.

I sat there for a while, just watching it. I couldn't help it. I mean, I'd been _dead_ people. This was awesome.

I smiled and looked down at the ground. Then I was half amused.

The Joker was asleep on my floor again. It surprised me he looked so relaxed. Usually he was tense, paranoid, and all the rest. But here he was completely... well, just out of it, I guess.

Suppressing the urge to poke someone, I stepped over him and walked out of my room, into the living room and to the kitchen.

I poured myself some juice and glugged it down. I sighed. Things would be pretty normal in a day or two, and I wouldn't go about appreciating life. But hey, while things lasted, it felt good.

To my utter surprise, Tony opened his door, walking into the room. I stared as he ran a hand through his crazy hair and suddenly realised I was in the room. He looked like he'd had a shower and had changed into jeans and a T-shirt with the middle cut out so the blue circle glowed wildly.

'Oh, hey,' he said, looking a little confused. 'I was...'

'Going downstairs to think about nothing except the brunette?' I asked, finishing the rest of my juice.

He nodded then shook his head as if realising suddenly the question I'd asked. 'No! I was – I was just –'

'Calm down,' I told him, grinning. 'I'm not going to tease you or anything.'

He looked over at me and said, 'Right.'

I nodded. 'Fair enough. Where're the flock?'

'They stayed in the spare room.'

'They shouldn't have.'

'Well, they probably didn't want to interrupt anything.' He looked at me and arched an eyebrow.

'Nothing to interrupt,' I said quickly and he relaxed, sitting down at the table, putting his heads in his hands.

'Juice?' I asked, holding up the bottle.

'Be great,' he said, still not looking up.

I took a big glass out of the cupboard and poured him some. Afterwards, the juice container didn't have enough left for even a small glass, but I put it back in the fridge anyway and sat down at the table, shoving Tony's juice at him.

He guzzled it down amazingly fast.

'Chug, chug, chug,' I said and he stopped, rolling his eyes at me. I started being serious. 'Sorry about... freaking you out so much last night,' I said awkwardly.

He looked at me. I was not getting off this one easy.

I sighed. 'The flock and I were about to get to an exit. The Joker wasn't with us, so I ran back to get him.' My shoulders hunched. 'I'm a bad leader, I know. I shouldn't have left them. But the exit was so close. And I...' I cleared my throat, half wondering if he was enjoying me suffer. 'I went back and Jack found me. He... was about to – the Joker came in and got me.' I looked back at Tony and shrugged, leaving out the part on how Jack had been killed. And Jeb. 'We came back here.'

'I'm not angry about that.'

'Then _what_?'

Tony looked at me. 'Do you ever wonder who your mom is?'

I froze and stared at him with glassy eyes. Sure, I'd wondered, but I'd never really asked him... for all I knew, I could've been a test tube baby who'd been lucky enough to get Tony Stark's DNA. And, if anything, it always freaked me out that my mom could've been a one night stand.

_Why _did he have to talk about this?!

He was looking half expectant, half uncertain.

'Do you know?' I asked slowly.

He winced. 'For a while, yeah.'

'You didn't tell me?'

'You never seem comfortable.'

'So what? You could've _told me_.'

'I didn't know if you wanted to know and I wasn't sure if you wanted me to tell you while the flock was around –'

'Do I know here? Please tell me she isn't a blond airhead. If she's an airhead, I'm a test-tube baby.'

'No. She's –'

'Oh, my God,' I said suddenly, realising something. 'It's the girl you met last year. The one you can't stop thinking about.'

The truth was easily defined on his face. 'No,' he lied.

'Yes, it is,' I said excitedly. 'Sixteen years ago, you guys got into a –' and I stopped. 'You got into a fight about me?'

'Well... we'd been going out for a few years. And suddenly she got really angry at me and left. About three months later, she rang me up and told me she was pregnant, and –'

'So you knocked her up and decided to leave her?' I snapped suddenly.

'No,' said Tony, 'I went back to see her. She said she'd known for five months and had panicked. We talked and I told her I wasn't going anywhere.'

I looked at him hopelessly and couldn't help but feel like giving him a hug – an awkward one, but a hug still. 'Then what?' I asked.

He ran a hand through his hair. 'When you were born, she told me that the media would go crazy if they knew. I wanted to stay and we got in a fight. She told me to leave and...'

'Oh,' I said in small voice.

He looked over at me. 'If you're not mad then you should be.'

'Well, I'm not and I'm not going to be.' I looked at him. 'Pinky swear.' I held out my little finger.

He laughed and pinky swore back. 'Do you actually wanna know who she is?'

My mind went into overdrive and suddenly I was hurtled back to the past.

--

I was bleeding. And, as people usually did in a situation where they see a bleeding girl and five other kids and their dog, they call 911.

It wasn't bad. I mean, I was practically fine by the time they got me to Gotham General, if anything, embarrassed. We'd just been flying over and had a surprise attack from the Erasers.

But it was kinda cool landing here. I mean, this was where Iron Man was, right? And numerous crazy super-villains? And, years ago, Batman.

Anyway, the doctors still took a blood test and all that crap and after three hours of paranoid hell, sitting in a white room with the flock and Total, a guy walks in with a weird look on his face.

'Who'd you say your parents were again?' he asked, in an odd voice.

I voiced what I'd been rehearsing. 'Missionaries, sir,' I said, smiling at him.

He frowned. 'You're sure?'

I nodded. 'Why? What seems to be the problem?'

He held up a sheet of paper. 'Your DNA strands...'

I froze. Avian-human blood. They realised.

'It has some... various traces of another... client of ours...'

I frowned, confused. 'Are you saying you know who my biological –?' I stopped suddenly. This wasn't possible, was it?

'Well, your father,' said the man and the flock perked up. 'We rang him. An hour ago. He's coming over.'

'Oh,' I said. 'Um. Wait, _what_?'

'Yeah,' said the man. 'Small world, huh?'

And he left the room, me being completely stunned.

'_What _just happened?' asked Iggy and Fang shook his head, bewildered.

'Max has a... _Dad_?' asked Nudge and I nodded. 'Unbelievable.'

Total breathed out. 'Wonder who he is.'

'Yeah,' I said.

We all waited in the room, freaking out. This was incredible. Who could be my dad? Was he an asshole? Did I _want _to know him? Was he a doctor? Was he just a normal guy who'd freak out when he realised I had wings?

Oh, God, this was insane. I needed to run.

I stood up, getting ready to get out of there, when the door opened.

My jaw dropped and Tony Stark, the friggin _Iron Man_, walked in cautiously. 'Is one of you, uh, Max?' he asked, looking around at us awkwardly.

Unable to believe it, I raised my hand. 'Present,' I said, sounding just normal.

--

'Of _course_,' I said. 'Why _wouldn't _I?'

Tony looked at me and smiled. 'I could keep you waiting...' he said, grinning.

'_No_, come on!' I snapped. 'This is so unfair!'

'Wellll...'

'_Tony_!'

'Remember what you told me? Phoenix, Arizona.'

I stared at him. Then my jaw dropped. 'No way in hell.'

'Yes way in hell.'

'You're _joking_!'

'Possibly – really, no, I'm not.'

'Oh, my _God_. _Dr Martinez?_' I blinked. 'How is it that you never cease to amaze me?'

Tony smirked.

--

**Gasp! **

**Hee, hope you liked the chapter! Please review! **


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

Tony rang Dr Martinez and, in short, told her we were coming down to Arizona.

This involved beings in a jet for three hours. Um, yeah, it sucked with everyone being so paranoid in small places. Rhodey was there so Tony wouldn't die of the insanity breaking out and therefore I was given at least ten strange looks for the guy who was sitting next to me.

Who looked pretty normal, I decided. Well, as normal as you can get without the scars thing. I'd had a slight mental breakdown on which I'd been teased mercilessly about, but I got my way about a few things: normal hair colour, no make-up and no purple when we went to see my mom.

To my surprise, he'd smirked (not that, I totally expected that, but the next part was) disappeared for an hour, and come back into my room with some of Iggy's clothes Iggy didn't wear, zilch make-up and wet hair that was no longer green.

Um, okay, I ask _waaay _too much of him.

By the time the jet landed though, we were completely insane. When the door opened, Gazzy, Nudge and I nearly got stuck in the door, Iggy, Fang and Angel right behind us. Total, the lucky boy, was fine.

Rhodey didn't get out. He stayed on the jet, said something to Tony and we continued walking.

Every step I was taking was freaking me out. Oh, my God. _Valencia Martinez was my mother. _I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't freaking believe it. I was getting tenser and tenser with each moment. What if she didn't like me?

_She loves you_. _You know that, like last time._

Yeah, but she might... I don't know, now she knows I'm her daughter...

_She knows you have wings and still loves you. That's the only thing you've ever really worried about. Stay calm._

Fang was giving me cautious glances every few minutes; I nearly snapped at him. I was on edge. I kept running my hands through my hair. The Joker, who was walking quietly next to me, smothered a laugh; my head snapped up in surprise and I realised my hair was practically standing up from all the times I'd ran my hands through it. I tried to put it back down again, after a few attempts, succeeding.

It wasn't a long walk. Things started to look familiar. I looked over at the forests. It was insane to think two years ago I'd run through there and gotten shot by a kid with _major_ problems, while trying to rescue Angel, and that had led to Ella Martinez and her mother. My mother.

_Our _mother, Ella was my _sister_.

My patience snapped: I put on a burst of speed, running far ahead of everyone, ignoring people asking me what was going on. I wanted my mom.

It took a few seconds before I found it – the house. A droopy-eyed dog was barking loudly at me, wagging its tail.

To my surprise, the door burst open while I was still in the yard; Dr Martinez stood there, looking down at me.

We stared at each other for a moment. What did I say? Hi, Mom, how's your day been? I think my lip trembled – then we both ran madly for each other and hugged.

'_Max_!' whispered Dr Martinez, tears running down her face. 'I knew it, I _knew _it – I had a feeling when I saw you –' She stopped, swallowing.

'I – I –' What did I say? I looked up at her.

She wiped her eyes, smiling. 'I get it.'

Nothing could explain the amount of love I was feeling right now. It was running through me.

I hugged her tightly and looked behind me. The flock still wasn't here. They were taking their time. I grinned. 'You wanna hear something really embarrassing?'

Dr Martinez smiled tearfully at me, releasing me slightly. 'What?'

'I've, um, got a boyfriend now –' I looked back again – nope, still wasn't there.

Dr Martinez laughed. 'Is he crazy?'

'You have no idea,' I told her, trying not to laugh. 'What gave it away?'

'Girls like us are _always _stuck with the crazy ones,' she sighed knowingly and I _did _laugh.

At this point, the Joker and Fang turned round the corner, passing into the yard. Fang became dark and silent, but still held out his hand to Dr Martinez. 'I'm Fang,' he said.

'Pleasure to meet you,' Dr Martinez said, smiling at him and shaking his hand. I glanced at the Joker, who looked at the ground as though he wanted to disappear altogether when Ella jumped out of the house and the rest of the flock appeared.

'Oh, my God!' Nudge shrieked. 'You're _Max's mum_!' And without a second thought, she ran up to my mom and hugged her. Angel was close behind her, both of them hugging her and finally, Gazzy.

Mom laughed. _Mom_, I've never _used _that word before!

Total trotted at their feet. 'This is Gazzy, Angel and Nudge,' I said, gesturing to them.

'Iggy,' said Iggy, holding out his hand in Mom's direction. 'I'm, er, blind.'

'Oh, how terrible,' said Mom, looking sympathetic. Then she saw Tony and her mouth dropped open. 'Oh. Hi –'

'Max!' Ella yelled, running down the steps and launching me into a hug. I stumbled back, holding onto her. 'We're sisters now! Isn't that cool?!'

I smiled back and she looked over at the Joker. 'Hi,' she said easily, brushing away the fact he was now always smiling and holding out her hand. 'I'm Ella, Max's sister.'

Nudge tapped Ella's shoulder and whispered, probably way too loudly, '_Serious cute gene_.' They giggled and I looked over at the Joker, expecting to see him roll his eyes. He smirked at me instead, as if to say _see, I've got the serious cute gene_.

Mom seemed to have finally gathered her head about Tony and said, 'Would you like to go inside?'

I gladly ushered everyone back into the house, leaving Mom and Tony to talk about whatever they had to talk about. They were looking at each other as if they'd just seen something for the first time.

'It'll end hilariously,' the Joker told me and I rolled my eyes at him.

'That's not funny,' I told him.

'It _is – _but you've _got _to start getting my jokes.'

I stopped suddenly. 'Wait,' I said, sniffing the air.

The Joker looked at me and tensed.

I inhaled deeply and suddenly squealed so much like a little girl I knew I was never going to live it down. '_Cookies_!' I yelled, running into the kitchen.

--

The flock, to my utter surprise, left the spare bedroom and kept themselves to the living room for the night. Ella was in her room, Tony was in the kitchen, drinking coffee and showing no signs of sleeping and Mom was in her room.

So now I was on the bed with someone else's arms possessively curled around me, staring out the window.

I still felt awkward... just a little, but enough so that I was still blushing even though we'd been in this position for the last twenty minutes. I didn't feel like talking.

I think the reason the Joker wasn't talking was because he was probably still emotionally stunted that I ate at least twelve cookies in fifteen minutes. Still, he looked okay with it.

'So, when did the, uh, cookie thing start?'

I smiled inwardly. Outwardly, I rolled my eyes. 'Two years ago. Did you start the whole "Joker" thing in Gotham, or somewhere else?'

He paused for a second. 'Well, it started in Gotham a _bit _before I was born. So, yeah, I leave, came back, whoop de doo, Joker. How many times did you kiss Emo Boy?'

'Unfair question,' I snapped, turning my head so I could see him as he snickered, avoiding my angry gaze.

'Okaaay... do you drink... coffee?'

'Yeah,' I said, wondering.

'Uh, gross.'

'What? _You_, who've done countless things to people, think that coffee is –?'

I stopped. _He's killed people._

The Joker tensed and I felt immediately crappy. I mean, jeez, he wasn't even wearing the _make-up _anymore.

'Sorry,' I said quietly, looking hard at the window. The sky was completely black outside; I couldn't even see the porch.

There was silence.

'But seriously, you _hate _coffee?' I tried.

'Shut up.' It wasn't angry, that's what amazed me – it was playful.

'How can you hate coffee? It's like, major energy drink.'

'No, really? I wouldn't have guessed that from the word _caffeine_.'

I huffed and he smirked again. 'Your turn for the question.'

'Okay, fine.' I thought about it. _Ask him something... something you really wanna know._ I hit home. 'What's your name?'

I think he hit a mental blank – it was like he was off the earth for a second. 'The Joker,' he said after a moment.

'Your _real name_.'

'Uh-huh... I gave it to you.'

'No, that's just what everyone _here _knows you by. What's the name your parents gave you?' I winced. God, why did I keep _messing up? Stop talking about his parents or him killing people – oh, God, Jack Napier –_

He was a complete and utter hole of shit who tried to kill his son. End of discussion.

'You don't have to answer that,' I said hastily, feeling him tense again. I really wished I would stop talking about really painful moments for him, this was just so _stupid _and so –

'Jack hated me.'

I stopped thinking. _What?!_

Those words had held the most pain ever hidden – hell, it was still _being _hidden in his tone as he said it. And the fact the _Joker _had even _said it –_

Well, you couldn't disagree with it. Jack hated him. He hated Jack. Simple. But he sounded _really _messed up about it.

Which, I'm sure, you would be.

I didn't talk. I didn't know how to respond to this. So I sat there in silence, staring at the wall and feeling him breathe in and out.

'Didn't have to guess much I wasn't supposed to be here. Most likely they both just said "screw protection" and just forgot about it. Harley's one of those people who think "Oh, jeez, I'm pregnant – this means I can settle down with the guy and make him stay" or something. Jack never wanted kids. He hated me from the first second Harley told him they had one. He just stayed because it was someone to manipulate besides Harley.'

I couldn't believe he was giving me this much information. This was incredible. 'Well, you didn't let him,' I said, trying to sound proud.

He laughed from behind me – a bitter dead rasp. 'Yeah, I did. I didn't have a choice. You just think they like you because they're supposed to, no matter what they do to you. Then they go over the line.'

I froze, knowing he was talking about his scars. 'What happened?' I whispered.

'You saw it, you tell me.'

I swallowed. 'It... was really terrifying.'

I felt him nod, considering my explanation. 'Felt betraying. Even though I practically knew he hated me, still hurt. Physically much more, though.' I think he tried to make some kind of joke out of it. I didn't laugh.

'So, after that, there were the stunned remarks at school, the name-calling, the being ripped apart by random kids I didn't even know. So on. The teachers wouldn't look at me; they just thought I was an idiot and did it myself, or that I'd tried to commit suicide. Some crap.

'Jack got what he wanted; I was, uh, completely screwed over. He could beat the crap out of me and I'd do nothing, just like before.'

'Then you turned seventeen,' I pointed out.

'Nope. Then I turned nine. Eight years after_ that_, I turned seventeen.'

I was silent.

'Kids at school told me to stop smiling one day. I snapped, beat the shit out of them and went home. They'd done it to get attention – _watch us pick on this kid_. Jack did the same to me.'

'You fought back,' I said.

'First time. Uh, how do you kids put it – oh, yeah. "Seriously rocked". Ran away. Went from town to town. After eleven years, I just wanted to finish the job. And wreak havoc on the way.'

'So you came back to Gotham.'

'No, in fact, I went to New York. _Yes_, you idiot, I came back. Let all the craziness out, showed it. Jack was happy.'

'I saw that,' I said, frowning. 'He hit you in the face with a gun.'

The Joker chuckled. 'Yeah. Didn't hurt.'

'Well,' I said, 'I first _really _saw you in an air-vent. Remember that?'

I could tell he was smirking. 'That was _you_? Gee, you just needed to get a glimpse of me, didn't you?'

'Shut up,' I said, rolling my eyes. 'But you never told me; what's your name?'

'You don't wanna hear it. _I _don't wanna hear it.'

'Please?'

'Nope.'

'I'll make you drink coffee.'

'And have to deal with me fully caffeinated? Your loss.'

'Okay, fine,' I snapped, annoyed – mostly at me. The guy had just poured out most of his life story to me and it wasn't enough. God, I was a Queen Bitch.

The Joker tensed again – I could feel it in his arms and I swallowed, ready to apologise. I opened my mouth.

'It's Jack.'

I stopped and looked at him. I wanted to yell '_What?_' but I felt that would be a little mean. Instead, I stared at him for a moment then said, 'You are such a pushover, you know that?'

He blinked at me and suddenly we were laughing like lunatics. Which, I guess, we are.

--

The next morning, my mom walked out of her room, looking fairly tired. She smiled at me then at my predicament. I had a clown's arms wrapped around me and frankly, he'd fallen asleep. That was kinda cute, I thought, smiling at his relaxed expression.

Then Tony walked out of Mom's room and I kind of did a double-take. He did too when he saw the Joker. We looked at each other and said in the same low dangerous voice, 'All right, I want answers, _now_.'

My mom laughed and I felt better, smiling at her. She was really a cool mom. 'Look, Tony and I were talking about things. Where you'd like to stay.'

I felt my stomach drop. _Don't make me choose._

'And I decided I could come to Gotham with Ella and Marigold, and we could start up again there.'

I whistled and the Joker shifted, raising his eyebrows in his sleep. I brightened.

Mom grinned at the clown and said, 'All right, I'll make breakfast,' (_like a mum!_) and walked out of the room, leaving Tony, me and a sleeping Joker.

Tony glared at the Joker, looked at me and said 'If I ever walk in on you two – I will kill him.'

I nodded and he followed my mum out of the room. I tried to move the Joker's arms so I could get up, but then they tightened and I heard an irritable, 'Good morning.'

'Hugs for you,' I said, smiling charmingly at him.

He smirked and kissed my cheek. 'All right, well, do you mind telling me what exactly happened last night?'

'What exactly happened last night?' Tony asked warningly, popping into the room.

I glared at him and the Joker continued smirking. 'We watched a movie til about one in the morning. That's all.'

Tony narrowed his eyes and was suddenly pulled back into the kitchen.

--

Within a week, we were back home, in Gotham.

Everything was completely different.

'Fang, what're you getting Kyra?' asked Nudge, as we all sprawled about the living room watching _yet again 10 Things I Hate About You. _I think the Joker was getting a kick out of whenever Patrick Verona appeared; Nudge's head would swivel from the screen to the couch, back to the screen.

'Earrings,' Fang said. 'They have bats on them.'

Ella was at a friend's house (yep, that girl makes buds quick) and Mum and Tony were out "shopping". My guess, they were already kissing in the middle of a film. And no, I do _not _wanna go there.

'Does she know about your wings?' Gazzy asked. 'You could take her for a fly?'

'No telling Goth Girl about wings,' I said firmly. The Joker lifted up his head, narrowed his eyes at Fang, and let his head fall back down again. Angel laughed into her popcorn while Fang rolled his eyes.

'Oh, what a wonderful movie this is,' Iggy said, rolling his eyes as he listened to us snickering.

'Oh, you should see Patrick,' said Nudge and I mentally groaned. The Joker somehow sensed this and smirked at me while Nudge continued, 'I mean, dreamy.'

'Are you writing this down?' I whispered to the Joker and he put his hand on my chin, turning my head so that all I could see was the screen. I glared at him sideways.

'Y'know what, just change his name to "Heath", why don't you?' Fang said, pointing to the Joker, who smiled charmingly and did a perfect impression of an Australian accent, 'Well, I _bet _you've thought about me nak –'

'No going there!' I snapped, hoping I wasn't turning red. Fang and Iggy went 'ooh' and I threw the TV remote at them.

'Well, you have,' the Joker continued, shrugging. Iggy howled with laughter and said 'Who hasn't?'

'Are you suggesting something?' Fang asked and I clapped my hands over my mouth, trying not to laugh. It was unbelievable how much I loved these guys.

**--**

**Still a couple to go!!! **

**Yes, the line is 'Well, I **_**bet **_**you've thought about me naked'.**

**Sorry for taking forever, currently writing different Fanfic – I was up at one writing it last night. **


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty Four**

I stood at the edge of the graveyard.

There were funerals being held. I could see the crowd of people gathering round. I could make out Harley sobbing loudly. And then there were just people who'd heard about the bodies on the news and were coming to see.

Jack Napier's coffin wasn't on my mind. Neither was Jeb's. Why wasn't Ari ever buried? The poor kid.

Speaking of poor kids, one of them was standing next to me, obviously not caring squat about his father. But nonetheless, he watched from far away. A couple of people had come up to him and said 'I'm sorry for your loss.' He'd told them not to be as it wasn't his loss.

Some guy in a suit walked up to us. He extended his hand to the Joker. 'Bruce Wayne. I knew your father.'

The Joker glanced at his hand and, after a moment, shook it. 'If you knew him then why're you here?'

I nearly elbowed him and told him to be somewhat respectful, but that was something I'd do to Nudge or Iggy or Total: and they were around Jeb's coffin, looking down at it. The littler kids were unsure of whether to cry or glare so they were settling for something in-between.

Jeb, who had saved our butts countless times, who had made us go to be when we tried to stay up and watch _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_, who gave us food, who was basically a dad, who taught us how to fight, who had let us out of the School, let us fly, let us live, who had loved us, who had disappeared, who had betrayed us, who had been shot, and who had died.

This Bruce Wayne guy gave the Joker some lip quirk that I guess was his idea of a smile. 'Wanted to see if the guy could actually die.'

'You and me both,' said the Joker. Barely anyone seemed to notice the scars at the moment. Everyone seemed too focused on the dead.

Bruce Wayne nodded. Seemingly the end of the conversation, he walked past us and then didn't matter anymore in my world.

The Joker looked down at me. I held onto his arm tightly. It was overcast today, rain looking like it could fall any minute, everything grey and black shadows melded in with the original green or red or blue. Everything just seemed calm. Most people would say rain is depressing. It's actually refreshing.

'You probably should say something,' the Joker said, a little gruffly – which meant he was trying to be 'understanding' and hating it. The things this guy does for me. 'Say goodbye. Something.'

I felt the corners of my lips rise at exactly how cute this was that he was trying. 'I don't really want to.'

The Joker grimaced. 'You had, uh, _some _good times with this guy, _right_?' He licked his lips and immediately stared at the ground.

I let go of his arm and kissed his cheek. He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything which meant he was actually really happy that he'd scored that.

I walked up to the coffin, standing with the flock, and the other people who had come to pay their respects to these 'poor, innocent souls'. Yeah, like Jack wouldn't be burning in hell right now.

But Jeb. I don't know where Jeb would be. I didn't want to.

I stared down at the white roses and heard the steady _thunk, thunk, thunk _of rain hitting wood. I could see the drops falling through the air.

'It was nice to know you in the beginning,' I found myself whispering. 'But you should have died the first time. You would have left a better imprint.'

Angel wove her fingers with mine. There were a few tears running down her face. I guess she'd decided to cry.

I didn't know what I felt. I felt like Jeb had been a great parent, but so had I. And I was _fifteen_.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and Tony said quietly, 'Are you okay?'

I squeezed my eyes shut. Forget about me trying to be a parent. Tony already did an okay job of that. He was still a little kid most of the time (but that meant he could hang out with us easier), like when it came to pizza or things that explode (not in the vicinity of his house, as he'd told Gazzy after something we now remember as the Oven Incident, thank you Fang for the name), but at the end of the day the thing that mattered was that he cared. Like, _really cared_. About all of us. Enough so that he could know when we were doing something we shouldn't be doing and things like that. There was a time when I wished Jeb had been my real father, but I doubted anyone could beat Tony Stark AKA my dad.

Oh, God, I just said 'dad'. Phew, that was weird.

I looked over at him and nodded. 'I'm fine.' The people had started to clear away so no one really cared that a billionaire superhero, six kids, a talking dog and an ex-super villain were standing around. Well, maybe not ex; he was probably just taking time off.

Or was he? Jack was dead.

I glanced over at the other coffin, which Harley was still standing at, her eyes red and puffy.

Now I was incredibly aware that Jack was dead.

'Are you sure?' Tony asked. 'We can go.'

I looked up at him and then at the other kids. Fang nodded.

'I think we're done here,' I said honestly. Did I have anything else I wanted to say to Jeb? I shivered at the thought of him in that coffin. It was unbelievable. He was finally dead. Finally.

And it didn't really matter, did it? Ari was with his father. Now maybe they could get to know each other, without the Erasers and the labs.

But to my ultimate surprise I saw the Joker was suddenly standing next to Harley, staring down at the coffin. Angel threw her flowers into the hole.

The rain grew heavier. I looked up at the Joker, who shook his head in disgust at the coffin. He looked back at me.

Men with shovels were staring at us. 'Anything you'd like to say?' one of them asked.

The Joker looked down at the coffin. 'He wouldn't care about anything I'd have to say.'

'That kind of guy,' said one understandingly. Or what he thought was understandingly.

'He was a bastard who spent most of his life destroying others,' the Joker said finally, surprising the shovelers. I tried not to smile. Harley threw her arms around the Joker and wailed over her loss.

'He was a good guy at first,' said Iggy, staring blankly at the ground.

'At first,' Fang repeated.

'At first,' Gazzy agreed.

'At first,' Nudge said, nodding.

Total's yip sounded amazingly like 'At first.'

'At first,' Angel whispered, burying her head into my jumper.

My flock looked at me as I stared at the coffin. 'At first,' I said firmly, and it sounded as if I had sealed the deal. Tony's grip on my shoulder tightened. I swallowed. 'He helped us a lot,' I said steadily, 'and tried to do what's best for us. He just didn't know what that was and he got help in all the wrong places.' I found myself thinking of how the Joker had been shot, of how Ari had died. 'But now he's dead and nothing can change that. I can forgive, but I never, _ever _forget.'

The flock all nodded. The rain was basically soaking all of us now, turning dirt to mud. Without speaking to one another, the flock, Tony, the Joker and I all turned and left the men to their work. As we were walking away I heard Harley give a tiny sniffle and finally, the sound of a shovel slipping into dirt then dirt thudding onto wood.

--

'So, that's over,' Tony said, watching me cautiously as I hung up my dripping coat. I nodded slowly. I could hear the others in the living room. Or I could hear the flock and Ella in the living room. Mom, being a vet, had actually gotten a really good job as a pet doctor. She was really amazing at it, apparently, so I felt glad for her. I didn't know if the Joker was just being silent. My stomach went a little crazy every time I thought of him.

I knew Tony was watching me intently so I said, 'I'm _fine_.' And made a big move from the front door to the entryway that led to the kitchen and living room.

'No, you're not,' Tony said, matter-of-factly, moving in front of me. We both knew I could kick his ass without trying, but like I was going to. I mean, even if we both hated each other I wouldn't, because he's got a bloody metal suit that withstands, like, tank missiles or whatever, and has many a built in weapon and quite possibly its own theme-song by Ozzy Osbourne, so he could just kill me later.

But since we didn't hate each other, I just didn't want to kick his ass.

'Of course you're not fine,' Tony said, crossing his arms. I looked up at him and shrugged. 'It's just weird. To see. Stuff like that. I mean, I know death. Lab freak, thank you very much –'

'Don't talk like that,' Tony said sharply.

I gave him a small smile. 'It's just – Jeb. It's finally hit that he's dead. It's kinda weird. He was like a –' I couldn't say _father _could I? Not in front of Tony.

But to my surprise, Iron Man cut in.

'Like a father to you and then he screwed you over?'

I nodded.

'Huh, been there, done that, know where you're coming from,' said Tony, rolling his eyes. When I blinked at him, he shrugged. 'I'll tell you about it some other time.'

I nodded again and then, for some reason I guess I'll never understand, I hugged him. I could totally feel the arc reactor, which is amazingly cold might I add.

'Whoa,' Tony said, obviously surprised. 'Where's all this coming from?'

'Shut up,' I told him and he chuckled, hugging me back. 'Your heart is freezing, by the way.'

'Oh, thank you, loving daughter, I'm glad you were here to tell me.'

The door opened and Mom walked in. Within a second, me and Tony were standing two feet away from each other. She looked at both of us and said, 'Hugging?'

'Absolutely not,' said Tony.

'Nope,' I said.

She crossed her arms.

'Yes,' said Tony.

'Uh-huh,' I said.

Mom sighed. 'I fell in love with a maniac.'

_Fell in love? _Ah, the romance of it all – it was surprisingly fun to be around. Until they started making out, then it was gross.

So that was why I left three minutes later.

The living room looked how I'd left it; crazy and full of kids. Fang was on the couch, Gazzy next to him, Angel was talking to Total and a non-listening Gasman, Iggy was lying across all of them with most of his weight on Fang just to annoy him, Nudge and Ella were on the carpet, talking over the TV, which appeared to be the news, asking 'Where _Had _the Joker Gone?' and 'Who is Max Ride's new boyfriend? Is it possibly the one from Christmas? Oooh!'

'Where's the Joker?' I asked.

'In your room,' Fang said. Gazzy smiled at me, a cute little smile. I smiled back. 'What did you do?' I asked him, ready to hear about whatever thing he'd blown up.

'Nuthin',' said the Gasman. 'I'm just happy.'

Okay, I could tell when the Gasman was lying. And this wasn't lying. So basically I did a Grinch and my heart wound up three sizes too big, or whatever. I found myself so thankful for this flock, so thankful for this family, so thankful for this home, so thankful for this amazing assortment of personalities, because I loved them all so much.

I opened my bedroom door and grinned when I saw the Joker sitting on my floor, his eyes closed and my radio on. It was playing some Nirvana song.

'_I'm so happy_

_Because today I found my friends_

_They're in my head_

_I'm so ugly _

_That's okay cause so are you_

_We broke our mirrors...'_

'Nice song,' I said.

'Kurt rules my life,' the Joker said, cracking open an eye.

'Right. So if Gotham figures out their most wanted villain listens to Nirvana, what's that going to do?'

'Nothing. They're all wondering who the guy going out with Maxine Stark is.'

I glared at him, closing the door as he snickered. 'They've finally learned to how say my name on TV and I'm very proud.'

'Yeah. D'you think they'll ever realise?'

'I don't know.' I sat down on my bed, so he was level with my knees. 'Look, I wanted to say something to you.'

The Joker smirked up at me. 'You've gotten bored of me already?'

'What? No! No, I want you to stay – basically... forever.'

The Joker snorted. 'Forever? Long time.'

I took a deep breath, ignoring all butterflies in my stomach. 'I like you.'

The Joker arched his eyebrows. 'I like you too,' he said slowly.

'No, I mean, like, I... feel like I. Um.'

To my surprise, the Joker pulled himself up onto my bed. My cheeks heated up. He noticed and smirked down at me. 'Yeah?'

I shrugged. 'Nothing.'

'No, go on, this is more fun than when I'm trying to get you to talk about your dreams with me.'

I shook my head, standing up. If I was near him, I would mess this up. 'Don't worry, you just ruined the moment.'

'There was a moment?' the Joker asked, amused. He licked his lips. 'Seriously, what's up?'

I stared at him. 'Now isn't the best time.'

'Huh,' the Joker said, staring at me. Then he frowned.

'What?' I asked. 'You only look that way when you're trying to figure out how to get to the toy at the bottom of the cereal boxes.'

'Well, just wondering when _is _the best time?'

I glared at him. 'Quite possibly never.'

He rolled his eyes. 'Once again, _understand _my jokes.'

'They're not funny.'

The Joker raised his eyebrows and said, 'Max. You're not making any sense.'

The corners of my mouth quirked.

'Was that a smile?'

'No.'

'That was a smile.'

'No, it wasn't.'

The next thing I knew he was standing up and grinning down at me. 'Yes, it was and that means I'm safe.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Sure you are. For now.'

The Joker smirked at me. 'Just say what you want to say.'

I stared at him. What _did _I want to say? I didn't know. I opened my mouth and out came, 'Do me one favour.'

'Uh-huh.'

'This is it, okay?'

The Joker looked interested. 'Sure.'

'Just stay, okay? Stay and don't get yourself killed.'

He looked at me in surprise. 'Wow, you must really like me.'

I avoided his eyes. 'Yeah, so?'

'Well, uh. I _don't know_. Just... why would you like _me?_'

I blinked at him. 'Because you're you,' I said after a minute. 'I like you because you're you. Does that help? What do you mean "why would I like you"?' Are you mental?' I held up a hand. 'Don't answer that. Of _course _I like you!' I couldn't believe him. How did that not get through to him?

But once again he laughed and put his hands on my shoulders. 'Max,' he said, grinning, 'relax. Or chillax. Why would someone say that, it's actually kinda annoying. Also, that whole thing leads onto the subject of chilli and chilly and Chile, _what is wrong with those people?_'

I stretched up and kissed him, throwing my arms around his neck and one hand messing up his hair. He responded and I tilted my head, feeling his hands on my waist.

'You are such a pain,' I told him, pulling back.

And something amazing happened. The Joker smiled. Like, an _actual smile_. Without the scars. And it wasn't a mean smile, or a smirk, or a fake one. It was one with alive brown eyes and no make-up. In fact, he had a few freckles.

And he looked majorly hot.

I felt my chest nearly explode and he pulled me down onto the bed, so I was basically sitting on him. I stared at him in surprise and he grinned. 'So you want me to stay?'

I nodded, a little dazed.

He sighed, like this was the biggest thing he'd ever been asked and it was so stressful. 'Well, I guess. I've got nothing better to do.'

'Oh, you are _such a_ –' I began irritably, but he cut me off by pressing his lips against mine. So I guess he won that one, because my heart just went mental again and I forget everything except that I couldn't believe how happy I was.

So I guess being Max has its benefits.

**--**

**Okay. I think it's done. This story is finally over. Jeez, that's weird, now it's... wow, sorry, just really weird.**

**If you think it ended on a weird note, then sorry. :) But thank you so much to everyone for reviewing.**

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**Thank you all and it was great to hear (read) reviews from you. I'm sorry if it ended a bit short but my friend said she liked it there and she was the one who threatened to steal shoes and so on, never mind, but it's been great. Thank you again.**

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